Kingdom Hearts 2: She Will Light The Way
by SirAngelo
Summary: What would he do for Kairi's sake? His freedom for hers, Sora offers. In one timeline, it is refused. But in this, it is accepted. What happens now? The story you know is thrown into chaos and anything can happen from here on out. From the nadir of total despair, can our heroes set things right? Can Kairi rise up and become the hero she was always destined to be?
1. The Deal

**The Deal**

"Is _she_ that important to you?"

"Yeah. More than anything."

He had answered without even a pause. No thought, just action.

"Show me how important."

The request hung in the cold air of the dying day; long and heavy. Longer and heavier still, due to the fatigue that coursed through Sora's body. Through everything that had happened today – the world hidden in the computer, the revelations about their old enemy "Ansem", the onslaught of Heartless, more and more encounters and battles with the sinister and wicked Organization XIII – the young and heroic bearer of the Keyblade, as well as his companions Goofy of the Disney Royal Knights and the Disney Court Magician Donald Duck, were at their limit, both physically and mentally. Now, facing the imposing, scarred Saix – Number VII of the Organization XIII – they most certainly didn't have the strength left to face him; at least, face him and win with a comfortable margin. And now, even more to weigh down on their weary hearts and bodies. Was it just a request, or more? A taunt? A treatise? A way out of another inevitable fight? He didn't know, but he wanted to believe it was more, that showing him would lead to something.

Swallowing his pride, and to the audible shock of his companions, Sora slowly fell to his hands and knees, face down in the dirt, prostrating himself shamelessly to his enemy.

"Please." Sora begged. It was loud and audible, but he felt like he was choking on his own breath. It was hard to get out, and not because he was humiliating himself. "Please, take me to her. Let her go. I'll do anything, just for that."

Saix glared down at the boy with fierce and corrupt golden eyes, a smirk slowly oozing across his face. "Would you exchange your freedom for her own?" Came his abrupt reply, causing Sora to rise – still on his knees – and look hopefully at the enemy. "We will give her her release, and in exchange you will become our captive and assist in slaying Heartless and forging Kingdom Hearts. Do we have a deal?"

Another heavy, leaden statement by the scarred man, but once more, Sora had no time for thought. Just action. Heck, just one year ago, on this very world of Hollow Bastion, he had given up his life for hers, plunging a Keyblade into his heart to free hers. He would be gone for good if it weren't for her, too. She had pull him out from the darkness. Sora would gladly do it again. Easy choice.

_For Kairi._

"I'll do it." Came the response, causing Saix's smirk to grow all the wider. Sora rose back to a standing base. "Promise to let Kairi go, and I'll do it." Saix smirk had grown to the point that pointed canines were visible.

"You have my word." Saix said, offering a gloved hand to the boy.

Within that moment, Sora hesitated. He saw the gravity of his decision laid out before him in that hand and Saix's predatory grin. If he agreed, that was most likely the end of it. There was no one else left to oppose the Organization, and he would become complicit in their plot, which would lead to... Well, he wasn't entirely sure what the end result of the Nobodies crafting a false Kingdom Hearts would be. Most likely something bad.

But, this was Kairi. Kairi, the sweet and cheerful girl who always stuck by his side, from the day they met. The one who always tagged along with him and Riku one whatever harebrained scheme they could conjure and stood by them when they were dismayed or injured after said scheme blew up in their face. The girl who showed up out of the blue from a distant star, further spurring the curiosity of the two boys on the topic of a greater world beyond their islands and oceans. Intelligent, athletic, kind, gracious, pretty; she was... Kairi. She was Kairi, and she was his world.

_I meant it. I really did. You're the most important thing in my life. I love you, Kairi._

"Deal."

Sora reached out and shook hands with the devil.

"Sora don't do this!" Goofy pleaded to his longtime companion. "There's another way to rescue her!" Donald likewise broke his silence.

"We're not gonna let him take you. Deal or not!" The feathered mage brought out his staff, signaling Goofy to arm himself with his shield, and the two of them charged forward, leaping into the air ready to strike Saix.

"This matter no longer concerns you!" For a brief moment, Saix's face turned into something feral and bestial. Thick cords of knotted muscles and tendons contorting his face into that of a savage monster, adding to his narrow slit pupils and bared fangs. With an outstretch arm, a blast of wind launched forth, picking up the airborne knight and mage and sending them hurtling backwards and into the open maw of a corridor of darkness, which promptly shut and swallowed them whole.

The whole turn of events happened so fast that Sora couldn't react quick enough with his weary body. "Donald! Goofy!" He turned back to Saix, hopeful submission replaced by indignant anger. "Hey, why did you do that!? They aren't a part of this!"

"Exactly." Saix replied coldly, his face and demeanor having returned to their normal stony stoic state. The change was so fast it was unsettling. "They were not a part of this, as such, they had no place here." The scarred Nobody roughly placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, gripping it with iron hard fingers. Another corridor of darkness sprung up behind the two. "Now, will you come long like a good little hostage, or... will you selfishly leave Kairi at our mercy?"

"I'll give up anything for her. I'll keep my promise." Sora replied, glaring venomously at Saix. "But I also promise that I'll get even with you for this. That this isn't the end."

"Whatever you say." Saix returned, disinterested and clearly thinking nothing of the threat. The inky black portal behind them grew even larger, large enough for it's frame to tower over both of them, before it closed down and covered the two in blackness, whisking them away to parts unknown.

**-O-SWLTW-O-**

Kairi sighed for what must had been the hundredth time in the hour. Of course, when trapped in a sparsely furnished jail cell, your only real options to while away the time were to sit and wait or pace about the tiny cell, and she felt that she needed to conserve her energy and eliminate unnecessary movement, regardless of her degrading patience.

_I really messed up this time._ She was captive, stuck in a passive role, waiting to be saved once again, and all that came about _because_ she was trying to avoid being that again. Being the damsel. She had left the safety of her home, blindly charging into the unknown, for the sole purpose of trying to find her friends, Sora and Riku. Why she had left... well, in hindsight, it seemed rather foolish of her. She couldn't fight in any capacity, she doubt she'd be anything but a distraction and a burden, but she also didn't want to be stuck on the island that they all called home. Maybe all she wanted was just to see them again, tell them she was safe, make sure that they were safe. It wasn't much but it was better than waiting and praying and hoping and doing nothing and being useless all over again. Like last year when all this started. She never wanted to be useless again.

_And you're doing a great job of that, genius._ Now, she was worse than useless. She was in the clutches of the enemy, serving as leverage against her friends. Even though her guards had assured her that she would be kept safe and humanely – bed, toiletries, three meals a day – she didn't hold her breath. The moment that Sora stormed the Organization's castle, she would trotted out with a gun to her head, and then it would be over, all because of her. They were gonna lose because of her.

Idly thinking of her captors and the guards caused her to look up, through the bars of her cell. The castle was still and quiet, eerily so, and the only thing in her vision were the ceilings, floors, and walls of the castle, all made of the same cold, bright, white metal. Normally her three guards would rotate between themselves every few hours, each keeping an eye on her in turn, but she hadn't seen any of them all day. Come to think of it, there had been some sort of commotion earlier on, muffled voices, heavy, booted footfalls echoing across the halls, even hearing the lesser Nobodies, the Dusks and Creepers, slithering and sliding in their unnatural gait. But for the past few hours, nothing.

Of her three guards – apparently the low-ranking members of Organization XIII, she had yet to see the top three – they all had different approaches to handling her. The mullet and flattop wearing youth, Demyx, was probably the most personal of the three. Very chatty, mostly small talk, mostly about himself, though he would occasionally ask her questions too, every now and then. He would also bring along his sitar and play a handful of songs in between lulls in conversation, which was rather enjoyable. He was a skilled player and had a good enough singing voice.

Luxord, the blond man with the goatee, wasn't too terrible a guard either. While he was distant and impersonal compared to Demyx, he still treated her well enough. His verbose and obtuse vocabulary was rather obnoxious, but Kairi was a good student, so she understood ninety-nine percent of what he said. Most of the time though, he kept to himself and would invite along several of his lesser Nobodies and the group of them would play card games through the bars of her cell. Luxord always won, but it wasn't sighing or pacing, so Kairi felt it a good way to pass the time.

The final guard, was far and away the worse of the lot. Saix, the towering and scarred Nobody who had taken her away from her first captor, the renegade Nobody Axel (remembering that she had been kidnapped by two different parties in the span of less than an hour caused her to curse her uselessness once again). Saix said and did nothing, other than to tell her to shut up if she made a noise, or to glare at her from across the room with an unerring, hateful gaze. Everything about him caused Kairi's skin to crawl in fear and revulsion.

Footfalls began to echo off of the walls of the hallway outside the cell, breaking Kairi from her recollection, as well as her day of solitude and near perfect silence. Furthermore, as the footfalls grew louder, Kairi was surprised to see the disturbance was not one of her three regular guards, but a different Nobody all together. This one a slightly older man with long black hair, streaked with grey, pulled into a ponytail. Several scars covered his face, and an eye patch covering his right eye.

"Up and at 'em, little bird." Eye Patch called out, as he entered into Kairi's line of sight. He turned to face her, bearing a easy going but cocky grin. "Aren't you in for a treat today. Superior's called a big powwow and you're to be the guest of honour." Eye Patch placed his hand on the wall just outside the cell door, apparently touching some sort of panel or control console, as the bars that imprisoned her retracted into the floor.

"W-what's going on?" Kairi said, trying to sound courageous. But the break in her voice ruined any brave front she would have put up. Instead, she pressed herself up against the far wall of the cell, away from the Nobody.

"Oh, don't you worry, little bird." The Nobody grinned even further, walking towards her in the back of the tiny cell. "You'll find out soon enough." Eye Patch reached out and seized the redheaded girl by the wrist, dragging her out into the hall. "And don't try anything stupid or brave. Or both." He let out a bark of laughter, as he roughly shoved her ahead of him. Kairi turned her head about to spare her captor a glance, seeing that in his right hand was some sort of futuristic handgun with needle-shaped barrel aimed directly at the small of her back. "Yeah. That's right. So, like I said, just stay nice and cool and it'll be all okay. 'Sides, I'd hate to mess up that pretty little face of yours."

Kairi gulped, her heart racing faster than she thought possible, but she began to stiffly move forward, Eye Patch right on her heels. Her feet felt like lead and her limbs and joints were stiff and ungainly. Something bad was about to happen, she could feel it, and he fear-addled mind was playing dozens of horrible of scenarios in her head.

Eye Patch stayed quiet for the most part, save for a few chuckles at her expense and telling her where they had to go, but he did make one audible comment which she caught. "Jeez, I can't believe that little punk gave up everything just for you. What an absolute joke."

"What?" She choked out in response. "Who are you talking about?"

"Like I said, you'll see soon enough." The Nobody punctuated the statement with a jab from his gun barrel, causing Kairi to yelp and skitter ahead, which only earned another chuckle from Eye Patch.

Eventually, Kairi was led to what looked like a boardroom. It was actually a little jarring that this nebulous group of sociopaths would have a boardroom that would not look out of place in almost any office building (all white colour scheme not withstanding) complete with a long table and several plush looking office chairs.

The members of Organization were all gathered within. Of the one's she recognized, Saix was skulking around in the back of the room, and Luxord was sitting at the table, playing solitaire, though Demyx was oddly absent. However, their were two more Nobodies that she'd never seen before in addition to Eye Patch. One with long jet-black hair that was bound up in elaborate braids and dreadlocks, his fearsome face framed in between two impeccably shaven muttonchops. The other new person sat at the head of the table, with skin the colour of teak and long grey-white hair. His golden eyes surveyed the scene before him, watching intently with his fingers tented. Judging by his position at the table, Kairi assumed that this was the so-called "Superior" of Organization XIII.

However, there was one more occupant in the room, standing in front of the table and away from the Nobodies. It was someone that Kairi recognized immediately, even with the year of separation and growth. He was slightly taller, with longer hair, thicker muscles along his arms and legs, and a rather sharp new set of clothing. But it was him without a doubt. Kairi would never forgot those deep, soulful ocean blue eyes, no matter how long they had been apart.

"Sora!" Kairi rushed forward to her longtime friend, briefly forgetting the gun aimed at her back, forgetting about the horrid situation of being kidnapped and held against her will, as bait, as leverage. They had finally found one another, the one thing she had wanted more than anything else.

She wrapped her arms around him as tight as possible, pressing up against him in a loving hug, cherishing the moment. But she soon realized that something was wrong. Very wrong. Sora wasn't returning the hug, and in fact seemed to be trying to inch away from her.

"Sora? What's wrong?" The redhead looked up at her wayward friend, seeing that he was averting his eyes from her. A chill ran up her spine. Why was Sora here? In the heart of the enemy fortress, standing before his enemies and not fighting them with everything she had. All of her elation had quickly evaporated, deep dread returning home once again. "What's going on...?"

"Yeah, kiddo." Eye Patch walked around and behind them, ruffling Sora's spiky hair in mock affection. "Why don't you explain to red just why you're here." Another bark of laughter, though he seemed to be the only Nobody drawing amusement from the situation. The others watched on with steely stoicism.

Gently, Sora broke Kairi's grip on him and pushed her away, still averting eye contact. "I... I gave myself up..." He explained in a quiet, shame-filled voice. "My freedom in exchange for yours. That was the deal... I'm their prisoner, that's why I'm here."

"No, Sora... you didn't!" Kairi's mouth hung open, uselessly, as she tried to express her shock. Her legs felt like they were going to give out on her, Sora had given himself up for her? She knew the depths of his devotion to his friends, the lengths that he would go, but... She placed both hands on his cheeks and made him look at her. "Please... please don't. I'm not worth this. You can't give yourself up." Kairi could feel tears welling in her eyes as she pleaded to the Keyblade bearer.

"I'm afraid that he already has." All present in the room turned to the head of the table, as it was The Superior Nobody who had spoke in a deep, rumbling bass-filled voice, the kind that demanded silence and authority. "Our young Keyblade Warrior will now work in service of us, striking down Heartless after Heartless, to free the hearts they hold captive. One by one, they will be released from their dark prison and be used to weave our glory and our victory. Together, they will craft... Kingdom Hearts."

The air froze in Kairi's lungs and she struggled for breath. This had to have been a nightmare, some terrible, dark dream that she would soon wake up, being greeted by the light of day in her own bed. Sora and Riku would be there and all be there and they would go one some kind of lighthearted, childish adventure and it would all be okay. It would all be okay...

Before her entire body gave out on her, Sora placed both hands on her shoulder, firm but gentle. The redhead looked up to see a pair of reassuring blue eyes, vast and calm as the ocean on a lazy afternoon. "You are worth it, Kairi. I would do this a hundred times over. All for you." The words from Sora finally allowed Kairi to find purchase in reality, breath returning to her and she slowly inhaled and exhaled, her legs no longer trembling under the pressure of the situation.

Sora then turned to the Superior, glaring hard at him. "I'll work for you guys. I know that's the deal. But you have to live up to your end of the bargain. Let Kairi go free to someplace safe. Take her home."

"Oh, we certainly will live up to the deal." Saix spoke up in his low, cold voice. The scarred Nobody began to make long strides towards the front of the room. "The girl will be set free, but I recall no mention of having to take her home, or anywhere safe for that matter." With that, his hand shot out and snatched Kairi by the end of her hair. She cried out in pain, as Saix dragged her away, a corridor of darkness materializing in the direction they were heading.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Sora tried to move to intercept, but Eye Patch snagged the hood on his jacket and yanked backwards, Sora's head slamming hard on the floor.

"Sorry, kiddo, can't let that happen." The Nobody cackled, putting the teen in a headlock and then propping him up into a sitting position, forcing him to watch as Saix continued to slowly drag Kairi to the swirling black portal. "Seriously though, I can't believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book. Poor choice of words, buddy. And now you gotta watch!"

And watch he did. Every agonizing moment of it. It seemed Saix was purposefully dragging out every second of this, relishing in the fear and desperation of the two teens. With his inhuman strength, he certainly good have finished this in a hurry, but instead took slow, mechanical steps to the portal, Kairi futilely struggling with every step, trying to pull her head out of his grip vice grip or find her footing on the smooth, metallic floor. Realizing that the gateway was her inevitable fate, Kairi turned back to Sora, terror and tears featured prominently in her purple-blue eyes.

Sora continued to struggle in Eye Patch's grip – who now was weaved a leg around Sora's right arm and was holding down his left with a free hand – but even renewed by a desire to wipe away the fear in his friend's eyes, it was pointless. With Kairi now only five-feet away from the corridor, defeatism had set in. He racked his brain furiously to try and think of something inspiring or comforting, something that may be his very last words to her, but all he could manage was to croak out a very weak, "I'm sorry..."

"No..." Kairi shook her head, voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry... this is my fault, Sora. I just wish I was stronger. For both of us..."

"What a ludicrous fantasy." Saix sneered, his voice still not raising above a monotone. "A weak person like you could never hope to be anything else. That is the nature of the world and you've wasted your life trying to fight against that truth. You truly are useless."

That one crushing and precise word crushed any resistance left in Kairi, as she would have collapsed to her knees if she weren't being propped up by Saix. All fight gone, Saix heaved her as if she weighed nothing, the redhead hurtling helplessly through the air and into the swirling black mass that he had summoned.

Before she entered the corridor, Kairi – eyes still locked on Sora – reached her arm out, fingers spread wide in an open gesture, as if her hero would miraculously save her one more time. It had happened before. Sora always defied the odds and saved the useless damsel who couldn't do anything for herself. That's how it went. It could happen again.

But it didn't.

Kairi vanished into the black hole

She was gone.

**-O-SWLTW-O-**

Despite being hurled with such force and contempt, Kairi found herself falling at a rather gentle pace. It almost felt like moving through water, with each movement hampered and slowed down, but possessing a calming and graceful flow to it. Specifically, it was like swimming downwards into deep ocean waters, looking downwards past forty-feet only to be greeted by a black abyss, as her vision was currently clouded by a similarly impenetrable abyss.

_If only... If only I were strong, like Sora or Riku. None of this would happen._

As she slowly descended to wherever Saix had condemned her to, she replayed the last ten minutes over in head on a constant loop, mostly cursing herself for being so worthless. If she could do...something, use a weapon or magic... fight off Axel instead of running into the corridor, stop Axel or Saix from taking her, break out of her prison in the castle... If only she were actual strong, competent, and capable, Sora...

_That's what I want to be. I want power. I don't want to be a burden to anyone anymore._

Eventually, something other than all consuming blackness entered her vision. Strange, grey stone that formed a crooked, impossible landmass appeared below her... very close below her. It might have only been twenty or thirty-feet, proving just how limiting to eyesight the darkness was. Closer and closer she fell and she could see the grey land formed several snaking and overlapping pathways, stone walkways floating in nothing and stretching endlessly through the expanse...what little she could see.

Manoeuvring her body about so that her feet made contact first and as soon as her shoes touched ground the sound echoed loudly through the space, despite the fact that she appeared to be completely outdoors. Wherever she was, it all felt so unnatural and wrong.

_Wherever I am... I have no clue where I am. If I can get home from here. If I could even find someone friendly or helpful. Doesn't matter... the Organization has won. Sora can't oppose them anymore. I might as well just give up here._

Kairi sighed, falling to her knees and hanging her head in despair.

"This is it!? After all we went through, this is how it ends!?" She cried out to the blackness in a tired voice. "The Keyblade and the Heartless, the Princesses of Heart, being separated for a year... all for this?" The redhead didn't even know what she was doing, why she was screaming her frustrations out to nothing. Maybe she was just exhausted after today and couldn't do anything else.

_Maybe because if I don't scream at the darkness, I'd have to take it out on myself instead._

And even if she did have the will and strength to go on and find a way out, she had no means to do so. No Keyblade, no magic, an apparently powerful and sacred light that she couldn't activate except by a total fluke. She had nothing and she was all alone, left to die.

No... she wasn't alone. There was something else here... but nothing she wanted to see.

Piercing the veil of endless darkness were a pair of bright yellow eyes. Perfectly round and lacking pupil or iris, they shone clearly through the haze like lantern lights. And then another pair appeared. And another, and another, and another... And soon dozens upon dozens of yellow eyes were lighting up the darkness, all in front of her and slowly massing on her location.

The Heartless.

Panicked, Kairi instantly got up to her feet, staring in disbelief at the horde of monsters crawling out of the blackness, all coming for her. _This is how it ends._ Against all rational thought – there's no way she could outrun all of these Heartless, especially considering the fatigue she was experiencing – Kairi turned about and ran.

When she craned her head over her shoulder, she saw that the horde had stopped slowly advancing and had bolted to match her pace.

_No. No. No! I didn't mean this... I didn't want to give up and end up like this._ Adrenaline surged through her body, emotional and physical exhaustion were an afterthought. She had to run, she had to fight, she had to survive. Somehow. _Please... I didn't mean it! I have to keep going. For Sora's sake. He gave up everything, I have to do something with that sacrifice or else I'm wasting both my life and Sora's!_

Running blindly through the alien world, across the grey stone, even with her vision limited by the darkness. Every step she took, it revealed more of the path, growing narrower and narrower, but still allowing her enough room. Every step, every bit of stone revealed, it meant another second of life. So long as there was a road in front of her, she would keep running. She didn't want to give up. She didn't want to be useless.

The path suddenly came to an end, finishing in a sudden drop-off into the infinite abyss.

With her limited field of vision, it came out of nowhere and she almost ended up running off the road, barely managing to skid to a stop. She looked behind her, praying that the Heartless had, for some reason, given up on chasing her, but of course they hadn't. In fact, now there were so close to her, she could fully see them in all their monstrous glory. A mass of sleek, ink black bodies dotted by countless razor-sharp claws and horns.

And now, Kairi found herself in between a rock and a hard place. Either stay and be torn to shreds by the marauding horde of demons or plummet into the blackness, possibly falling forever, possibly to her death. Most likely to her death.

Slowly, the Heartless still gaining on her, closer and closer still, Kairi took shaky steps back. Adrenaline and courage and survival instinct had failed her and she was now reduced to the feeble, self-hating wreck she was. Her heels were hanging over the edge of the path.

_Mom, dad, Riku... Sora... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I... I'll miss all of you..._

One of the Heartless lunged into the air, talons reared back and ready to cleave right through her. At that moment, Kairi's heart caught in her throat and her whole body was paralysed. She couldn't move, she couldn't fall, just stand there stupidly and wait to die. The Heartless was an arm's length away from her, clawed hands inches away from ripping her to bits.

In a flash of light and a streak of blue, the Heartless was launched backwards in pain, it's body split in two before bursting into motes of darkness.

Once more, Kairi fell to her knees, breathing heavily and stunned. Every five minutes it seemed, she went from an emotional high to a low and then back up to a high. It was taking it's toll more on her than anything else. Still, she looked back up at the Heartless, knowing that one suddenly dieing wasn't her salvation, only to see another person standing where the Heartless had just died.

She was a breathtakingly gorgeous woman, tall and slender, with shortly cropped sapphire blue hair. Clad in a high-collared halter top and a corset wrapping around her lower torso – navy blue and black in colour – and twin belts crisscrossing over her chest, with black bike shorts and tall black stocking covering all most her entire leg, with only a little bit of skin left bare. Off-white bell sleeve detached from the rest of her clothing covered her arms, with blue and white cloth wrapped about her waist, and pointed and armoured boots covering her feet, she stood between the horde of Heartless and Kairi, her stance belying both raw power and undeniable grace and elegance.

But, most importantly, in her hand was a weapon shaped like a very plain and ordinary skeleton key: a Keyblade.

"Whoever you are, please stay back. I'll handle this." The female Keyblade warrior advised Kairi, authoritative by gentle. She turned back to nod at the redhead, who could only stare blankly and stupidly. However, now that she could see the woman's face, Kairi had a ping of familiarity hit her. She could have sworn that she'd seen this woman before...

The Heartless did not take the fact that their prey had been denied from them, or that one of their mortal enemies had appeared. They continued their advanced, but the blue-haired woman was not to be stopped so easily. Holding her Keyblade out, she launched a flurry of attacks: balls of fire, shards of ice, rays of lightning, they all darted across the field, striking their targets with perfect accuracy. Each magic strike didn't just eliminate one Heartless, but multiple ones in a single burst; icy, fiery, and electrical explosions ripping through the hordes at a frightening pace.

Still, however, the Heartless continued to assail the two, pouring through the veil of darkness that obscured their vision. To her credit, the woman was not to be daunted either, as she switched her tactics, charging headlong into the horde. In a display of grace and acrobatic ability the Keyblade bearer began to leap and dart and cartwheel through the army, cutting a swath of destruction through the dark demons. Annihilating one after another with lightning quick, brutal sword strokes.

Her blinding agility made it next to impossible to keep track of, as she was never in the same spot for longer than a second or two. Sliding to the left, Keyblade stretched out and laying waste to what must of been eight of the creatures during the move alone. Cartwheeling forward to avoid being surrounded, ending the dodge with a spinning attack so powerful it produced an actual whirlwind, hurtling the Heartless around her in every which direction. She then did a high backflip through the air, raining down more magic spells to devastate the enemy, before touching down near Kairi again. She then rose up onto the ball of her right foot, kicking out with her left leg to build momentum, slowly building into a fast spinning pirouette – wielding the Keyblade with both hands, stretched high in the air. As the pirouette began to build to an inhuman speed, a bright aura of light shone about the woman, brighter and bright as she span faster and faster. Not before long, spheres of light began to launch off her spinning body, each orb arcing through the air towards the Heartless, striking them and erupting into a massive explosion that tore through the mob with alarming speed.

As the blue-haired woman began to slowly wind down from the pirouette, most of the Heartless had been destroyed, with only a few remaining, and those were clearly smart enough to not approach her with such low numbers. The mysterious woman kept her eyes trained on where the Heartless would be coming from, steely gaze seeming to pierce the blackness.

"Miss!" Kairi chose now to run up to the Keyblade bearer during the lull in the action, approaching her from the right side.

"Please, stay back!" The woman pleaded, shooting out her to prevent Kairi from passing any further. She turned to face Kairi. "There's still more of them, and I can't protect you if you get ahead of me."

Kairi gently place her hand on the guard of the woman's Keyblade. "No... I mean, I know... it's just... Have we ever met before, miss?" Kairi looked up hopefully at the woman, the sensation she was feeling was too strong to be a coincidence. She must have met this woman at sometime in the past.

For her part, the blue-haired Key bearer looked down at Kairi, squinting at the girl, clearly trying to remember. "Wait..." Her eyes widened in realization. "You... are you that-"

Without warning, a bright light blinded the two girls, forcing both of them to step away from each other. As the blindness faded away, their seemed to be some sort of ray of solid light gripped in Kairi's right hand, and it seemed to have a mind of it's own, as it was tugging her away from the Keyblade warrior and towards the precipice.

"Wait! What's going on?" Kairi tugged hard on the ray of light, but it would not relent in dragging her to the edge of the stone path. She tried to open her hand to drop it, but it seemed her entire right arm had shut down and was no longer obeying her thoughts. The other woman looked to Kairi's struggle, seeming to realize what was happening.

"It'll be okay." She called out, reassuringly. The ray was now trying to lift Kairi upwards while also dragging her off the platform; standing on her tiptoes at the very edge of the abyss. The redhead looked back with a confused look. "I know it seems odd, but that will take you to safety. Just let it light your way. Trust me." More Heartless began to pour towards the two.

"B-but what about you?" Kairi was almost gone, just barely able to struggle to stay on the ground.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay." The woman turned back to her enemies, ready for another wave. "Also, my name is Aqua." Aqua turned back to smile at Kairi. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Aqua, we – WOAH!"

Finally, Kairi could hold on for no longer, as the ray lifted her off the ground, accelerating to fantastic speeds as she zoomed headlong into blackness for the second time today. This time, however, Kairi had a feeling deep down that wherever she ended up, she would be better off. She would be okay.

The light would show her the way.

* * *

_And there we have it. After my long, uneventful absence, I am back with a very personal project of mine._

_The general idea for this fic came from two sources: my intense dislike of Kingdom Hearts 2, and this sudden obsession of mine to see Kairi as the heroine. Not just an action heroine, but the star of the whole shebang. And I know me expressing my hatred - deep and frustrating hatred - of Kingdom Hearts 2 makes me a bit of a black sheep amongst the fanbase, but it is honestly how I feel. That game blows. It's the most disappointing piece of crap I've ever had the misfortune of being apart of. It (and Days) almost drove me out of the fandom before BBS saved me. So, as the fic progresses, I will explain my various points as to why I do hate the game and feel it is such an inferior follow up to the original and Chain of Memories and is one of the worst games in the franchise._

**Point #1: The Deal.** The scene where Sora begs Saix is a good scene. Never mind that Sora treats Kairi as an afterthought for most of the game, focusing more on Riku instead (more on that later), but it's pretty strong stuff regardless. However, it is ruined because Saix is an idiot. It's no hidden truth that I hate Saix. Not the good kind of hate, either. He's a terrible villain, and is far and away my least favourite Organization member (second least favourite is Axel, overall favourite is a three-way tie between Roxas, Larxene, and Marluxia). If he accepted Sora's offer, then that's it. They win. Sora is the linchpin of their plan with both Xion and Roxas gone. So... not only does he give up guaranteed victory, but he purposefully pisses Sora off (for no advantage) AND the Organization informs him of their plan and how to stop it (only if Sora was that careless and vindictive of a person). And unlike in Chain of Memories, when Larxene pisses Sora off by taunting him, it is to drive him further into the Castle, which is part of the plan, and it leads directly to her karmic death. When Saix dies, his taunting of Sora isn't brought. Not that it would have saved this plot point, but it would be nice for Sora to have personal impetus to take out a villain other than the top guy. So, Saix is a terrible villain (all of Org 13 in KH2 save Xigbar are, to be fair, particularly in contrast to the COM Nobodies who are brilliant villains) and almost botches the entire plan in one fell swoop, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Bravo, you moron.

Anyways, that's my spiel for now. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and I just want to let everyone know that I am very proud of this. Proud of the concept and proud of this chapter. Also, good news, I have already finished Chapter 2, and have started on Chapter 3, so hopefully with this one I'll be more consistent in posts. Don't hold your breath, but we'll see.

Thank you, everyone.


	2. Where Do We Go From Here?

_I'm still riding super high this week, 'cause my boys, the New England Patriots, are once again Super Bowl Champions! WOOOO!_

_Shout out to all my readers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut._

* * *

**Where Do We Go From Here?**

"What a sight. Look like you're the lazy bum this time, Kairi."

Following being throw into the unknown (again), Kairi must have blacked out entirely, as she couldn't remember a thing after meeting the blue-haired woman, Aqua, and the Light appearing in her hand. Finally, though, after an indeterminate amount of time, she did began to stir, consciousness and sensation returning to her. As she groaned slightly, she could feel a comfortable feeling of warmth and soft around her, so it seemed her situation had improved from infinite blackness, cold stone, and an army of Heartless. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter open, herself wincing from the bright light inhabiting wherever she was, and, slowly, through her blurry vision she saw... Sora!?

Maybe it had all be a horrible nightmare, or Sora had saved her at the last moment, or the Light had saved both her and Sora. That, somehow, she was whisked away from danger and was now resting at home in her warm bed or on Sora's ship, with the most wonderful person she had ever met watching over her.

Maybe everything was going to be okay.

"Sora...?" She ventured hopefully in a dry, croaking voice.

"Sora? You must be seeing things." Her vision began to adjust to the light and focus, revealing clearly who was in front of her. It _was_ a man with spiky hair, but he was older, his hair was blond, and instead of rising upwards like a crown, his spikes were parted left, right, and backwards around his head. "The name's Cloud."

"Oh..." Kairi sank downwards, deflated and crestfallen. She did, however, take notice of where she had wound up. It was a small but rather well furnished bedroom, with hardwood floors, a large wardrobe to her left, an old but soft-looking sofa to her right (and something she couldn't quite identified sitting across it), and herself lying in a large, queen-sized bed, with comforters and blankets and pillows piled high around her. _Just where am I? And this Cloud guy... Can I trust him?_

For his part, Cloud had barely taken notice to her, instead opening up the only door in the room (which seemed to be at the end of hallway). "Hey, everyone. She's woken up." The blond man called down the hall to someone. A few moments later, Kairi could hear what must have been several people all coming down the room, all of them pouring in to the now cramped space.

Six people in total had entered the room to join her and Cloud, however, Kairi did vaguely recall the group, much to her relief.

"Wait... you guys, I remember you. Last year, from Traverse Town." She pointed to a man with short-cropped brown hair and a diagonal scar running across his nose, "Leon." To a young woman only a few years older than her, with black hair cut in a page style, "Yuffie." Another woman, around Leon's age, light brown hair bound in a long braid, "Aerith." A pair of older men; one with a windburned, crinkled face and blond hair, and the other with a wizened look and a long white beard, "Cid and Merlin." And then to a woman with long, raven-black hair, "...I'm sorry, I don't think we've ever met."

"I'm Tifa." The woman said, offering her hand, which Kairi shook. "And don't worry, I wasn't around much last year."

Kairi nodded before turning to Leon. "So, does that mean I'm on Traverse Town? How did I even get here?"

"Not Traverse Town. This is Hollow Bastion." He corrected. Upon seeing the alarmed look on Kairi's face, he explained further. "We retook it after Sora defeated Maleficent. Rather, we're still in the process of retaking and repairing it."

"And even more repairin' on out plates, what with that darn Organization messin' everything up and wreakin' havoc today." Cid complained in his heavy southern drawl.

"As for how you got here, well, we were gonna ask you that honestly." Leon said. "We were just surveying the damage done to the city after the Heartless attack, and all of sudden there was this shooting star that crashed town in the middle of town square. When we went to investigate... there you were."

"It actually took us a while to recognize you. You've grown up quite a bit." Aerith added, smiling gently at the younger girl.

"Well, I was thrown into that dark place, surrounded by Heartless. The the Light appeared in my hand, and it dragged my off further into the darkness, then... I woke up here. That's it." Kairi muttered. The redhead shook her head, hand pressed on her forehead. She still felt extremely groggy and out of it.

"Dark place? Light? What are you talking about?" Leon looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Shouldn't you be back on your home world, anyway? I know you probably miss Sora, but... speaking of, we have no idea where he, Donald, or Goofy went to. They just vanished mid-way through the battle."

At that moment, the horror of the situation hit Kairi again and the fog surrounding her mind cleared up. "Oh... that... I know what happened to Sora, everyone." She quickly explained how she initially got off-world, encounter the strange yellow dog and Axel, blindly stumbling through the corridor to Twilight Town. Her double kidnapping by two opposing parties (still a pathetic and painful memory for her) and subsequent short imprisonment.

"And then, I was taken out of my cell to some sort of meeting room. All of the Organization members were there, even the higher-ups I had never seen... And Sora was there, too." Kairi hung her head in shame, long red hair shielding whatever was still visible as well to hide the fact that tears were welling up in her eyes. "He was there because he was offered a deal... his freedom for mine." She swallowed, gripping the top layer of blanket. "He took it. He's their prisoner now."

"He didn't!" Leon blurted out in shock. Some of the others gasped or muttered curses, but Kairi didn't want to look up. Even if she wasn't crying like the little useless girl she was, she didn't want to face anyone at this moment.

Kairi nodded at Leon's exclamation. "All my fault... it's all my fault..."

"It's not, sweetie. Don't keep saying that." Aerith came to sit on the edge of the bed, as Kairi continued to mutter in a mantra of despair. The older woman put her hands onto Kairi's shoulders, gently massaging them. "This is what Sora does. This is the kind of person he is. Especially when it comes to you."

Kairi began to push her hair back, wiping away the tears on her comforter. Her face was beet red, mostly from embarrassment. She offered a small "Thank you" and was in return given a kind smile from Aerith, where Tifa handed her a tissue for her eyes.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the group were discussing the new information amongst themselves. "...And I suppose we can extrapolate what happened after this... prisoner exchange." Merlin said to the others, while stroking his beard as he was wont to do when deep in thought. "She was 'released' in a sense, clearly not to safety as Sora had intended. The poor girl ended up in that 'dark place' until this so-called 'Light' rescued her and brought her back here."

"Though it still doesn't explain where that Keyblade came from." Leon returned. The brunet seemed extremely on edge after learning about Sora's actions, pinching the bridge of his nose at various points, or sighing in frustration.

Kairi looked up to him after dabbing her eyes dry and wiping her nose. "K-Keyblade?" Leon replied by motion towards the sofa and the strange object sitting across it. It certainly was a Keyblade, now that Kairi gave it a good eye, though it was particularly bright, showy, and effeminate. The actual blade was a gradient of colour from light gold at the base, to deep, dark red at the tip, resembling that of a sunset. The curved hilt was divided into two different designs, one half looking like a breaking wave, while the other was simply a sand-coloured curve that eventually wound it's way past the guard and all the way to the end of the blade, like a vine. At the end of the sandy vine the Keyblade exploded outward in a bright bouquet of flowers, that formed the teeth of the weapon. Finally, a length of red silk extended from the pommel, ending with a token shaped like a yellow paopu fruit.

"Who's is that?" Kairi ventured, very confused at it's appearance.

"Yours." Leon stated plainly, startling the teenager who was now staring at him with a slacken jaw and wide eyes. She tried to sputter out a refusal, but Leon only walked around the room to the Keyblade and picked it up. He gave it a single, slow practice swing before it vanished in a flash of light. A moment later, an exact, identical burst of light appeared before Kairi, and the Keyblade was now clutched in her right hand.

Once more, the girl started, even more so than the first time, almost falling out of bed. "This...this... I can't do this!" Kairi exclaimed. "I can't be a Keyblade bearer! This... this isn't me... I'm no fighter, no warrior, no hero! I'm useless..."

The room went deathly silent as Kairi continued to stare in utter disbelief at what was in her hand. At what had happened. Eventually, Leon marched over to the side of her bed, grabbing on to her upper arms and looking in her directly in the eye.

"Kairi, I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you." He began. His voice was clear, direct, and earnest, all of which were reflected in her eyes. Kairi couldn't bring herself to look away or interrupt. "This is... an absolutely dire situation. Not as bad as when Sora started, but... Our enemy is powerful, our resources are low, and all of our heroes are gone. Sora is captured, no one has heard a word of your friend Riku in the past year, and the King is missing again. You're our last hope. You have to stand up and take Sora's place and fight the Organization."

Kairi knew what Leon was going to tell her, and it still hit her like a tidal wave. She sank down into the pillows propped up behind her, staring blankly back at the older man, all words failing her. _How can I do that?_ She wanted to say, to rant. Everything was overwhelming her and she was losing control again, just like when she entered the dark place and screamed into the blackness. She wanted to scream at nothing to prevent her from screaming at herself. _There's no way someone like me could ever match up with the Heartless. The Nobodies._ Just thinking of the fearsome aura the Organization member cultivated for herself, trying to envision herself facing them down with Keyblade in hand and a steely look of a warrior. It was one of the most absurd things she had ever imagined. _I'm not Sora, or Riku, or Aqua... I'm nothing._

Kairi wanted to say all those things, but, her mouth entirely dry and hanging open like a total idiot, all she could manage was a weak, "I can't..."

"You can." Yuffie spoke up from the back of the group. "Like Squall said," that earned her a glare from Leon, "Sora was faced with a similar situation last year. He didn't know how to fight, his friends were missing, thrown into all of this, the enemies were powerful and had tons of footholds and territory on him. But he fought. Despite all of that, he got up and left Traverse Town and _he saved everyone!_ And you know, that if this situation were reversed, if you were the hero the first time around and Sora was the dude in distress and he had to step up to save you... he would do it in a heartbeat. No questions asked." The girl finished up by serving up Kairi a disparaging and disappointed glare, which was slightly hamstrung by her petite frame, but the point was clear none the less.

_She's right. Completely right._ Kairi thought, while pressing her hand to her forehead, deeply embarrassed. She had made a complete idiot out of herself with that display. _Sora wouldn't care about how weak he was, he would only care about his friends being in trouble and trying to save them._ Then why couldn't she? Why was her first response when confronted with something like this was to crumble into a weeping mess? _Do I not care about Sora as much as I thought I did? Or I am just so consumed in self-loathing that I can never focus on anything else?_

The redhead was now acutely aware that everyone in the room was staring at her expectantly.

"I... I'm terrified at what's going to happen." She lifted her arm, which was trembling like a leaf in the wind. Her voice was similarly weak and shaky "But... you're all right. I'm the only one who can do this. I have to get past this, and be like Sora." Kairi looked up at the assembled group and said in much stronger and firmer tone, "I have to fight."

"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that." Came a high-pitched voice that didn't belong to anyone currently in the room. "And they're right, Sora face difficult odds, but rose to occasion. I'm certain you will, too."

The others parted away from the door frame, the direction where the voice was heard, to reveal a short, anthropomorphic mouse-man with comically large, round ears.

"Your Majesty?" Leon exclaimed in confusion. "Where did you come from? You vanished near the end of the Organization's invasion."

"Leon, please, it's just Mickey. I'm more comfortable with that." King Mickey said, walking into the room. "As for what happened to me, Sora and I ran into the Organization's leader, Xemnas. I chased after him through a corridor of darkness, following him from world to world, but I eventually lost the trail, so I worked my way back here to figure out what our next move should be." The mouse king had walked all the way to Kairi's left side. "It looked like I missed quite a bit in the past few hours."

"What did you overhear between us?" Cloud asked.

"Mostly everything, starting with Kairi explaining what happened to Sora." Mickey then looked suddenly despondent. "Donald and Goofy were with him. The Organization must have gotten rid of them before they took Sora, I do hope they're okay..." He shook his head and sighed, before turning to face Kairi. "Hello, Kairi, I'm Mickey Mouse of the Kingdom of Disney. I know you probably don't remember, but we have met before."

"We have...?" Kairi wracked her brain through her poor, broken memory. She was drawing nothing and, unlike Aqua, there was no ping of remembrance striking her heart. "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I can't remember. But it is a pleasure to meet you acquaintance." She had always been taught to show proper amount of respect to people of power and importance. That well-learned habit had pushed through even considering the situation she was in. "I just wish the circumstances were better."

"As do I. And please, I don't like to be addressed like a King outside of my kingdom. Just, Mickey, please."

"Okay, Mickey." She nodded, before blurting out. "So... you'll be helping me fight the Organization right? You and Sora's companions? Donald and Goofy?" The redhead was once again extremely hopeful about this possibility. Sora's companions clearly had some skill and power to be able to stay with him every step of the way, and apparently Mickey was even stronger, if he felt like he could face off with the Superior of the Nobodies.

However, once again, her hopes were quickly dashed as a grim look spread across the mouse-man's face. "I'm afraid... that I can't." Kairi deflated once more. "I've never been good at playing the hero role, I always end up messing up. Especially ten years ago... Besides that, I do have to find Donald and Goofy, and they could be anywhere. And I've already confirmed my mission before coming here: I need to find an entryway into the Organization's stronghold. That's the only way we can end this entire struggle."

Kairi just nodded. "I understand... So, does that mean Leon and the others? Some of you are going to join me?" She looked about half as hopeful as she had to the King. And once again...

Leon winced, clearly knowing what he would say would hurt the girl. "Kairi... we can't. I'd like to, but the seven of us are more or less the only one's keeping Hollow Bastion together. The castle needs to be cleared out, as does over half the city. And that's not even getting to the wilderness. And... if that were just the case, I would certainly lend you two of us, but with the recent invasion and the damage it caused... we just spent ten years reclaiming our home, and I don't want to risk losing it."

"So... I'm all alone? I have to do this by myself?"

"No, we'll definitely figure something out." Tifa said, trying to raise Kairi's spirits after her hope had been crushed twice in less than a minute. "Sora wouldn't be anywhere without his friends, so there's no way we're throwing you into the deep end without some support."

"Speaking of Sora," came the King. "Kairi, did you hear why the Organization took Sora captive?" She nodded and recalled the speech the Superior made.

"Yes, their boss said that... Sora was needed to destroy Heartless, and that would free their hearts and they'd use it to make-"

"Kingdom Hearts." Mickey interrupted, earning another nod from the newly minted Keyblade bearer. "That's what I feared." He turned to Leon. "Is there a computed I can used somewhere?" When Leon responded in the affirmative, motioning to the open door, the King continued. "If everyone would follow me, there's some info I found in Ansem the Wise's old files. I never got the chance to share it with Sora today, so I think now is a good time to explain to everyone." The King then left down the hallway, everyone streaming out behind him, single file.

Kairi kicked off the thick layer of blankets, taking her first steps out of bed since waking up. Her legs felt like rubber, but she still managed, waving off Aerith who had offered her support to lean on. She did, however, lean in towards Merlin (who was next to last in the line) and asked, "Who is Ansem the Wise?"

"The last leader of this world before it fell, serving as Lord Regent." The wise elder explained. "The Heartless that was behind everything last year was the Heartless of his apprentice who had stolen his name." He paused and then added, "If I recall correctly, he was your great uncle." Which earned a silent acknowledgement from Kairi, who was starting to piece a bit of her past together.

The group all followed Mickey into a small office where a normal, everyday desktop computer sat on a table. The mouse king plugged a memory stick into the tower and began to fiddle around on the keyboard, before a window popped up, displaying several lines of text at a ridiculously small font. The King began to quickly scroll through the file.

"When Ansem the Wise and his apprentices were researching the Heartless, they came across an old tome which described the Realm of Darkness." The King began, still scrolling at a rapid pace, tiny text blurring together. "Specifically, it focused on a kind of stone only found in that Realm. I've encountered it before, too, so I can verify that the tome must have had some truth to it." Mickey finally stopped scrolling, stopping on not a page of text, but an image of a tall obelisk of stone. It was pitch black, with strange, alien "veins" or bright red and blue running throughout it. "It's called Blackheart Stone, and, when placed on a world, it makes it easier for the Heartless to materialize on that world, as well as drawing them to the world like a magnet."

"And let me guess, the Organization has been harvesting this stone, placing it on different worlds in order to flood them with Heartless?" Leon ventured.

"...And that way Sora would be fighting more Heartless, so they can finish forging Kingdom whatever earlier?" Yuffie finished for her friend.

"And now that Sora is being forced to work for them, it'll be even easier..." Kairi added.

"All correct." Mickey surmised. He closed the file and popped out the memory stick. "So, Kairi, while I'm looking for a way into their castle, you'll travel to the worlds that have Blackheart Stones and destroy them. Like the Heartless, they can only be destroyed by a Keyblade. Also, and this is important, they are inert in the Realm of Darkness, but after a time in this Realm, they become active, and they react badly when touched by anything other than a Keyblade. Regardless, destroying them will slow down the creation of their Kingdom Hearts, as well reducing the threats to the various worlds and their inhabitants. Also, hopefully, in doing this, you'll get enough training and experienced to be able to defeat the Nobodies once we finally do invade."

"Okay... I suppose I can do that." Kairi replied. "Seems easy enough. I mean, what kind of fight can a rock put up?"

"Well, that's the thing." Mickey said, hesitantly. "According to that old tome, the Stones and Heartless are deeply connected and, when threatened, the Stone can summon a powerful Guardian Heartless. But, I can't tell you if that's true or not. I never tried to destroy one." Kairi let out a tiny squeak of fear.

Aerith swooped in quickly in, once more putting her hands on Kairi's shoulders to calm her "We can worry about all that tomorrow. About getting you equipment, and a ship, and a support team. It's late, and you need some rest. Also, I take it you're hungry." It hadn't occurred to her since waking up, but the moment the woman verbalized, it Kairi felt absolutely famished. She nodded, resulting in a motherly pat from Aerith. "Alright then. Go back to bed, and I'll get you some dinner. Then, you should get a good night's sleep."

As Kairi shuffled back off to the bedroom, Leon declared to everyone. "That's probably a good idea for everyone. You're help has been greatly appreciated, but it's been a long day. Go home and get some sleep. We'll reconvene in the morning and try and sort this out."

That proved agreeable to the group, who all muttered their goodbyes and went their separate ways, save for Leon, Mickey, and Tifa – who was hanging back what the other two conversed.

"...You're not just looking for a way in to their fortress, aren't you?" Leon asked after being absolutely sure Kairi was back in her room.

"Good to see your still so sharp, Leon." Mickey offered with a smile. Leon remained as serious as always. "I am. I'm going to try to find someone who can answer everything that's going on. Ansem the Wise, the renegade Nobody Axel, Riku..."

"Ansem's still alive?" Leon questioned. "And you know where Sora and Kairi's friend is?"

"I was sworn to secrecy from both of them, but yes." He explained. "Ansem is no longer the kind and benevolent ruler I met all those years ago. He's bitter and vengeful. Going to any length to destroy Organization XIII..." Mickey sighed, shaking his head. Clearly what had happened to his friend was eating up at him. "He already... I think he already did something inhumane to one of the Organization's members. The only one with even a shred of goodness and innocence. But all that aside, he can still be of great assistance."

"And Sora and Kairi's friend? What of him?" Tifa made her presence known, which earned an annoyed glare from Leon, but he said and did nothing.

"He's doing whatever he can to help Sora. But his pride and his history with the darkness has caused him to go into isolation. I told him a dozen times to go fight alongside Sora directly or to go and find Kairi and tell her they were both safe, but... Something happened to him a few months back. It changed him, it hurt him mentally and... I think it's killing him." Mickey spent the entire explanation staring at Leon, but now his vision fell to the floor. "I'm very worried about him, but I don't know how to help him."

The scarred man fell to one knee, putting a hand on Mickey's head. "You'll think of something." Leon offered. "You or Sora or Kairi will find a way to help him. I have complete trust in the ability of those with Keyblades." This earned a small smile from the mouse king.

"Thank you, Leon."

"Don't mention it." He stood back up to full height. "Before you go though, could you see if you can contact the three fairies who made Sora's new gear? I have a feeling Kairi and whoever she gets as a team could use something like that."

"I'll contact Master Yen Sid as soon as I can. And I have something for you, too." Mickey fished out another memory stick, passing it to Leon. "That contains a new radar program for Gummi Ships. Install it, and they will be able to pick up on Blackheart Stones while travelling through space."

"Thank you. And good luck to you on your journey. We'll need it." Mickey nodded again, before leaving the room. The sound of a door opening and shutting let Leon and Tifa know he was on his way and gone. "What a mess..." Leon sighed after Mickey had left. "I still have no idea what we're gonna do in terms of a party for her."

Tifa came over and patted a hand onto one of his shoulders. "Don't worry, Leon. I have an idea."

"I know you want to go yourself, Tifa, but that isn't happening."

"Hey, I agree with you." She replied, defensively. "Much as I do want to go, it's too chancy here for me to leave." The black-haired woman paused. "No, I was thinking about those three we picked up two hours ago."

"Them?" Leon looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that," she retorted. "Besides, even if they were working for her, I don't think they are anywhere near that bad. They were just forced into it."

Leon grunted. "I don't like this at all... But we don't have a whole lot of options. Go send out feelers and I'll talk to Cid about working on something to keep them in line."

"Already halfway there, boss!" Came Cid in the distant.

"Wait, what?" Leon said.

Tifa turned to the doorframe. "Yuffie, do you wanna join me?"

"You bet, Tif!" Came the chipper reply of the girl, hidden behind the doorway.

"What?" Leon said again. "I told you all to go home."

Yuffie stepped out into plain sight. "And miss your juicy private conversation with the King? Forget about it."

Leon facepalmed, growling. "Did everyone overhear what just happened?"

"I certainly didn't hear the King saying Ansem the Wise was still alive." Came Cloud's deadpan voice.

"Wow, are the walls paper-thin in this place?" Yuffie wondered aloud. "Aerith got screwed when we picked houses." Leon just growled in frustration again.

Tifa waved off to the younger girl. "Come one, Yuffie. We've got some caged gulls to visit."

**-O-SWLTW-O-**

"Man, this blows. How long do you guys think we're gonna be stuck here?" Asked a young woman with a high, very fast and chipper voice.

"Who knows? Probably forever. They did catch us working for their enemy." Replied another woman, this one with a cold and flat voice.

"But we also fought against the Heartless. Look up you two, I'm certain we'll be out of here sooner than later." The third speaker, also a woman, had a soft and airy voice.

"I guess it's not so bad." Fast-talker chirped. "I mean, we're human again. That's a plus. It's been almost two years, I forgot how much better this was. Flying was neat, though."

"See? Things are looking up." Airy-voice continued. "The curse is broken, so once we get out of here, we'll finally be free to do what we want."

"Unless this place has the death penalty." Monotone woman brought up.

"Aah! Yunie~ Paine is scaring me. Make her stop!" Fast-talker wailed in fright.

"This isn't the time for hypotheticals like that." 'Yunie' – the woman with the airy voice – said quickly. "We have to keep positive right now."

"I'm not being positive or negative, Yuna. I'm being realistic." Said Paine, the woman with the flat voice. "We were caught working for public enemy number one, and right now, there's no official government body, and therefore, they can most likely do whatever they please in the name of stabilizing the world. The three of us are in a lot of trouble, so we should prepare for the worse."

"Stop being such a downer, Paine!" Fast-talker blurted out in exasperation.

"Only when you learn to channel all that energy and noise into something constructive, Rikku."

"Meanie." The fast-talker, Rikku, shot out even faster than her normal speed. Paine grunted noncommittally and Yuna sighed.

The three of them had gotten into quite a mess. All three of them were currently locked up in tiny, eight-by-eight, holding cells in an old police building in a part of Hollow Bastion that was still mostly in shambles and uninhabited by the small population of the city. Four hours ago, they had been fighting against wave after wave of Heartless in their tiny, fairy forms, before they were suddenly reverted to their human selves... without clothes. In the middle of a world where they were wanted fugitives. With no way to support themselves. No way to fight. And with no way off the world. It's no surprise then, when sneaking back into the city to steal some clothes, they were brought in for a petty theft and public indecency and then identified as the notorious Gullwings, the gang of thieves that also served as Maleficent's spy network. They were then thrown into this abandoned jail without a second thought and had been alone ever since, bickering amongst one another, worrying about their fate.

Rikku, a petite girl with richly tanned skin and blonde hair bound in an elaborate display of braids, all held back by an orange hairband, stood up from her bench and marched across her tiny cell and began shaking the bars madly. "Lemme out, lemme out, lemme out!" The girl shrieked. Despite their advanced age and the state of decay of the rest of the building, the bars held strong, barely budging. Frustration and anger burned through the blonde's bright green eyes.

"It's no use, Rikku." Came Paine. The woman was older than both her companions, with dark red eyes, ghostly pale skin, and silver-grey hair, worn short and slightly up. "The building is empty and old, but the cells haven't rotted down a bit." It was their rotten luck, of course. Especially considering that there sparse accommodations. No space, a hard wooden bench, and that's it. Not even a toilet or sink.

And, of course. "But I _reeeeeally_ have to use the bathroom, Paine..." Rikku whined in a quiet voice.

"Just try and hold it Rikku. Try not to think about it." Yuna reassured her companion. Her skin was only lightly tanned, with brown hair cut in a sport bob. Most peculiar were her eyes; heterochromatic with one blue and the other the same shade of green as Rikku's. "Just...we'll be out soon. I know it." Despite the lack of facilities, they had been given clothing; ill-fitting grey sweatpants and sweaters.

"You've been saying that since we got here, Yunie."

"I know, but I know they will. They can't just leave us to rot here."

"Or they could at least give us a toilet."

"We could give them information on Maleficent. We could be useful to them."

"Or at least a bucket or something. This is inhumane."

"Things will get better, I know it."

"Shhh." Paine snapped, raising her voice only slightly. "Quiet. Everyone. Someone's coming."

Yuna and Rikku hushed up, now overhearing a door closing as well as muffled voices. All three Gullwings got up and pressed up against the bars of their cells as the door to the holding room opened up, revealing the very two who had arrested them. The tall, strong-looking woman with long hair, and the annoying short-haired girl. They both walked to the centre of the room, eyeing the three captives.

"Evening, ladies." Tifa said to the prisoners. "I was wondering how the three of you would feel participating in a little... work release program."

* * *

_So, yeah, a bit more of an expository chapter this time around, but for all it's bad rap, I think exposition is important, and I prefer to get it out of the way so we can actually move towards plot, character, and dialogue._

_And, yes, I deliberately wanted to mirror Sora waking up in Traverse Town from the first game with the start of this chapter._

**Point #2: Second World Verse, Same As The First:** Now, despite my dislike of KH2, the first part of the game is rather enjoyable (okay, gameplay and level design are lackluster, but the story was okay) and it all goes downhill during the second trip to Hollow Bastion. Not only is that where my first issue (The Deal) occurs, but afterwards, the game enters a brand new level of laziness by simply have Sora go over every world he's been to once again, sometime with no reason to. Worse, the worlds are all criminally short, and the majority of them have no connection to the main plot (why do the Organization only ever appear on three of those worlds? Why couldn't they have a larger presence?). The previous and former games handle this much better, with Kingdom Hearts 1 have much larger and longer worlds and Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance splitting both segments of the world and plot between multiple characters, reducing backtracking, but it's just a pointless bother in 2. The Blackheart Stones are supposed to remedy this, giving Kairi a reason to backtrack over Sora's path. However, certain worlds I utterly detest their second go around in KH2, as their self-contained plots were finished the first time (why did we have to go back?) so they will not be appearing, but instead will be replaced by new worlds. At this point in time, I can only confirm that Port Royal will not be returning, which is also in part to the fact that that world is probably my least favourite world in the entire franchise.

Okay, there we go, chapter two is in the books. Please don't be afraid to favourite, follow, and (especially) leave a review. Speculate on Kairi's next step, on her potential party mates, and, of course, where exactly do we go from here.


	3. Meet The Party

_Edit 2/17/15: Must have replaced this chapter with the file for Chapter 1 when I was cleaning up some spelling and grammar. My mistake. I apologize for the inconvenience.  
_

* * *

**Meet The Party**

Faraway from the current events on the Organization's stronghold and the Radiant Garden, faraway from Sora's desperation and Kairi's despair, others who were in the know were trying to react to the bargain that shook the entire universe to it's core. Currently, three such people were crowded in a tiny, dimly lit basement, sequestered and bunkered deep beneath the idyllic and peaceful sun-drenched suburbs of Twilight Town. Electrical equipment and notes were scattered about in a chaotic manner in the otherwise spartan room, the only feature of note being the dozens of computer monitors stacked upon one another, currently providing the only light for the room's occupants: two tall, cloaked men and one small blonde-haired girl dressed in a plain white sundress and and air of melancholy around her. One man, his cloak being red with bandages and masks obscuring most of his face, sat before the myriad of screens, a large, almost impractical-looking keyboard spread out before him, furiously clacking away at the keys, while remaining utterly silent, something which did not go unnoticed.

"You've been awfully quiet for some time." The other cloaked man observed, dressed in one of the Organization's black cloaks, the high hood pulled up and obscuring his entire head. Red Cloak responded with silence and the rapid clacking of computer keys. "What's going on? Tell us. You called me back here for something, but you haven't said a word in ten minutes." Black Cloak's voice was a deep, booming baritone, strong and commanding.

Red Cloak once again remained intractable.

The blonde girl sat in a corner, equally as silent, but she busied herself by doodling in a sketch pad, only sparing nervous glances at the two Cloaks.

Black Cloak huffed, exhaling sharply, as he continued to glower through his hood. He looked up at the screen, most were displaying text that was in either an absurdly small font size or in alien languages he didn't understand. Others showed diagrams of various things; hearts, keys, armour, two young men, one Black Cloak had tried to save and the other he wish he had saved. The other monitors showed black and white video feed of various points in the Nobody's castle. Video feed without audio, that chugged and jumped and skipped in a manner as smooth as sandpaper, and was frequently consumed by static snow. He had released several robotic camera drones created by Red Cloak on a previous mission – a kidnapping he now deeply regretted – in order to spy on Organization XIII, but the eldritch location of the castle severely hampered the transmission, and even then, they were only able to receive the video feed on certain days at certain times of day. To the Black Cloak, the hassle and difficulty of it all made it seem rather pointless.

More minutes passed, with the only sound being the clacking of keys, the scratches of a pencil on paper, and Black Cloak's continually frustrated sighs. He continually watched the monitors for something to inform him of the gathering and Red Cloak's silence, and that's when he saw it. Two people he recognized, a teenaged boy and girl, in the heart of the Nobody's stronghold, surrounded by the five surviving members of the Organization. Black Cloak watched in growing horror and anger as the girl rushed up to embrace the boy, followed by an exchange of muted words, the girl's expression turning from elation to terror and despair, before she was dragged off-screen by one of the Nobodies.

"DiZ!" Black Cloak bellowed furiously, grabbing the seat of masked man's chair and dragging him away from the screens. He spun him about, glaring and fuming right in his face. "What is this!?" He pointed back to the monitors, many of which were now looping the events that had set him off. The blonde girl had stopped drawing and was now focused on the two men, watching with large, fearful blue eyes. "Why am I seeing Sora and Kairi in the Nobody's fortress?" Tell me now!" DiZ's orange eyes remained still and emotionless through the tirade.

"That," he pushed Black Cloak's hand away from him, before spinning about back to the computer system, "is why I have called you here. As far as I can tell from our video surveillance and the energy readings on the Hollow Bastion, Sora was either kidnapped or forced into a bargain with the Organization and taken to their castle. Considering, however, that the girl was released, I would argue that a bargain was struck." DiZ's voice was impassive and utterly without emotion. It was a quirk that infuriated Black Cloak in situations like these.

"W-what... What kind of bargain?"

"Most likely her freedom in exchange for becoming complicit in their plans. I should have expected this, the boy is far too nice for his own good. Always selflessly putting others before himself, a terrible pawn all in all." DiZ explained in a cold and straightforward manner. Black Cloak bristled. He knew DiZ didn't care about anyone else, only his plan and his revenge, but to flagrantly display it at a time like this. "All in a all, this puts a massive wrench in my plan. No tool for revenge, no obstacle for the Organization, and now an impressive gain in their strategy.

"Never mind that, what happened to Kairi? How did they even find her? Tell me you can find her." Black Cloak demanded. He was hot. Fuming. DiZ had already worn his patience thin, and now, with this news and DiZ's reactions to it only further incited his anger. DiZ only showed a small, mocking smile.

"Calm yourself, would you. You're making a disgrace of yourself." DiZ returned to typing "The spell that sent her to your islands a decade ago also masks her presence as a Princess of Heart. It also make locating and travelling to that world exceptionally difficult, usually you'd only be able to find it by sheer luck. This is why it took so long for the Heartless to locate her and why the Organization didn't immediately take her hostage. However, the spell works in a unique symbiosis. It only masks her light when on the island and only shields the islands when she is on them. It is my hypothesis that she either found her way off the islands, or, more likely, a Nobody wandered onto them via dumb luck."

DiZ finished typing, motioning to one of the main monitors, which was now displaying a map of a city with a tiny radar blip flashing on it. "As I said, I was monitoring the world you know as Hollow Bastion, but I know it as my home, the Radiant Garden. The Organization launched a massive attack on it today and I kept track of the various energy readings. Several corridors of darkness transporting those to and from the world. The dark fae, Maleficent, appeared and then vanished, but not through a corridor. She is most likely deceased. Then, the unique readings of the Keyblade vanished – Sora being whisked away by the Nobodies. However, shortly before you arrived, a very unique energy appeared out of blue on the world. A combined Princess of Heart and Keyblade bearer signature." He turned to face Black Cloak. "Most likely your friend Kairi."

Black Cloak only shook his head in disbelief. "A Keyblade? That makes no sense, where did she even get one?"

"That is a trivial matter to me. I do not care how she came to have it, only that she does. We no longer have to scramble for a new strategy, simply change our current one." DiZ stood up and began to slowly cross the room towards the quiet blonde girl. "Travel to Hollow Bastion and retrieve her for me. I will prepare for the experiment. The same one we performed on Sora and his Nobody."

The blonde girl stood up from in seat in a start, backing away, her eyes fleeting between DiZ and Black Cloak, a pleading look directed at the latter. Answering, Black Cloak imposed himself between DiZ and the girl, roughly pushing him back.

"You're going to forcibly merge Kairi and Namine, just what you did to Sora and Roxas?" DiZ nodded at the rhetorical question, causing Black Cloak to tense again. "Absolutely not! That experiment did nothing! Sora didn't wake up any faster and he didn't grow any stronger because of it."

"Yes, the experiment failed, but there is nothing to suggest it was an utter failure. We may still see acceptable results between the girl and the witch over there." DiZ explained in his extremely robotic, sterile way. If an observer didn't know better, they would swear he was speaking of inorganic, inanimate things instead of actual people.

"Some would say that's the definition of insanity." Black Cloak growled back.

"Spare me your witticisms, you pathetic husk of a man." DiZ fired back, finally showing a little emotion. A mix of annoyance and mockery. "You collected the Nobody boy without any hesitation, like a good little lapdog, now you've grown a conscious?"

"Yes! What I did to Roxas was wrong and I regret it everyday. There's certainly no way I'll go through it again and I'm definitely not forcing it onto her." He looked over his shoulder to the blonde, Namine, and gave her a reaffirming nod, trying to boost her spirits.

This only made DiZ laugh coldly. "You've grown a sense of morality and have grown fond of the witch? You're absolutely pathetic 'Ansem'." Another laugh. "Running from your past, yourself; even after a journey of self discovery you still hide behind that pseudonym and guise. Riku... on second thought, you and that miserable, trembling witch belong together."

"DiZ! I swear –" Black Cloak caught himself, clenching one hand into a fist. "...If you call her that one more time, you will pay."

Yet another bark of taunting laugher. "In the worthless state you're in, you can't achieve anything. Now, hand over the witch and –"

Black Cloak's hand shot out, palm spread open, and a black and violet fireball rocketed across the space between him and DiZ. It struck the masked man and blasted him off his feet, launching him straight into the cluster of computer monitors with tremendous impact. They cracked and shattered, sputtering sparks, as DiZ tumbled down across the keyboard and onto the floor with a hard _crash_.

"Riku!" Namine ran forth to the black cloaked man, whipping her head about wildly. She was afraid. Confused. Panicked. Slightly relieved. "What are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago..." Riku muttered ruefully. He waved his arm and a corridor of darkness sprang into existence. "Come on, we're leaving. There's no way that I'm letting him use you for his crackpot science experiments." He stepped towards the portal, but Namine remained stationary, staring over at DiZ and his computers. The older man stirred slightly, groaning loudly in pain. "Namine. Please. I know I've done terrible things to you. What I did to Roxas, forcing you to stay and work here... But I want to do right by you. I want to protect you."

Namine turned back to him, eyes downcast at the floor. "No... I do trust you, it's just... I wish that we could do something. To help Kairi."

"I do too, trust me. But in this state, I don't know of what use I am to anyone." Riku sighed, dejected. "I failed Roxas, I failed Sora, I may have failed Kairi already... I don't want to fail you, again." He felt something clutch at his right hand, seeing that Namine was holding it in between both of hers.

"There's still hope... You can make it up to Sora and Kairi. And Roxas..." Namine trailed off, unsure of what to say, whether to lie or tell the hard truth or to just offer some vague platitude. She bit her lip, looking away and back at DiZ. "We should go."

Riku nodded, and the two vanished into darkness, their fates and own feelings about each other unknown, but, hopefully to someplace better than their lodgings the past year.

**-O-SWLTW-O-**

Kairi woke up the next morning groggy, with stiff and sore limbs, and absolutely famished, and this was despite her wolfing down every bit of food put in front of her last night and sleeping for almost twelve hours.

_Running and cowering and panicking exhausts me, and I think that I can take on the Organization. This is going to end well..._

A long, hot shower helped wake Kairi up and eased the soreness in her arms and legs away. The warm cascade of water running down, combined with the gentle, clean aroma of the soap and shampoo allowed herself to shake away the doubts that ran through her head, trying to counter the previous rueful assessment of herself. Splashing water across her face, she exhaled. "Okay. Okay. I can't think like that. No more psyching myself out, beating myself down. Like Yuffie and Leon said, Sora did this. Sora only knew his little kiddy spar fighting and he got stronger and stronger, but he even started out weak and untrained. Maybe even afraid like me. Just... baby steps. That's all I have to remember. I'll... I'll be okay."

She shut off the water, quickly drying herself off and dressing in her one pair of clothes. By this point in time, the scent of soap and shampoo had dispelled and Kairi could smell something alluring and delicious. Her stomach roared in response, with Kairi wasting no time in heeding the call after combing her still damp hair, heading down the hall to the kitchen, where she was greet by Aerith, Tifa, and an absurdly delectable-looking breakfast laid out before her.

While Aerith had been the one to offer Kairi emotional support and dinner last night and even gave up her own bed to Kairi, the young woman had learned that the home she was currently occupying was shared by the two women, who were old childhood friends, though Aerith jokingly told Kairi the living arrangement only worked because of Tifa's cooking. Looking at the spread before her, Kairi could see Aerith putting up with her roommate even if they were archenemies just to have access to this food. The everyday staple breakfast foods were well represented, hot and cold cereal and a tall stack of toast, stuff that normally Kairi would eat but would never crave, but in her famished state it looked incredible. But then her eyes fell on the real good stuff. The foodstuffs she would only normally have on the weekends when she had time to sit and enjoy breakfast. A platter of bacon and sausages, still audibly crackling and visibly steaming; golden, flaky hash-brown patties; a ridiculous amount of fruit, all of which looked perfectly ripe and fresh: apples, pears, nectarines, strawberries, bananas, bunches of grapes, and plump, dark red cherries almost as large as her thumb. There was even several croissants, bagels, muffins, and other scrumptious pastries. All in all, it caused Kairi to forget about everything but the here and now, the sight and smell of the feast, the redhead practically drooling.

"You know, it's even better if you eat it instead of stare." Kairi snapped out of her reverie to see and hear a giggling Aerith sitting at the table. The kind and sweet woman was drinking a cup of coffee, only picking at some scraps on her plate. "And good morning, by the way." Tifa was at the stove top, cooking eggs in a large skillet.

"Uh... good morning. Sorry." Kairi bowed slightly before taking her seat. She looked between her two hostesses before asking, "Are you two going to eat?"

"We already have, Kairi. You were asleep for sometime." Aerith explained, which earned a blush from the teenager. "But, please, eat as much as you want." Kairi jumped at the offer, piling a nearby plate full of food. When that plate was crowded full, she did the same to another, as well as grabbed a bowl of oatmeal.

"How would you like your eggs, by the way?" Tifa called out over the din of Kairi scrambling for food.

"Either sunny-side up or scrambled. Either or." Kairi reached over to grab a pitcher of milk and another of apple juice, pouring herself a glass of each. She then surveyed the table once more, seeing that even with all of her rampant gluttony there was barely a dent made in the feast. "Um... beg your pardon, but don't you think you made a little too much?"

Tifa turned over to her to deposit two perfectly cooked sunny-side up eggs onto one of Kairi's plates "For the three of us? Yes. Though, I see you can really pack it away." She laughed, which earned another blush from Kairi. "But, we'll normally get all sorts of stragglers within the hour looking for food. Yuffie and Cid mostly. Sometimes Cloud. They know I make too much food and are always on a prowl for a free meal, so it never goes to waste."

Kairi nodded, before thanking her hosts from the food and then digging in, gorging herself on the absolutely delicious breakfast. For nearly a half hour, Kairi sustained her feast, relishing every single bite of food. To their credit, Tifa and Aerith were polite around the ravenous girl, mostly talking quietly to themselves and never giving Kairi anything else other than a wry smile, as the slight, slender girl took in more calories in a sitting than most professional athletes do in a single day.

"So, we do have everything ready for you." Aerith finally brokered as Kairi's hunger slowed down. The girl was using a piece of wheat toast to sop up a puddle of egg yolk, ketchup, and bacon grease. Stuffing it all in her mouth, she washed it all down with the last remaining dregs of the milk. "When you're ready, we'll head to our Central Command for final preparations."

Kairi finally managed to gulp down the too-large mass of food. "So... you found someone to join me? A party?" Tifa nodded in confirmation. "That's certainly a relief." She paused, fiddling with her fork, before quickly asking, "Who are they? What are they like?"

Tifa shuffled about, uncertain. "I'll... let you decide that one for yourself." A flash of worry crossed Kairi's face. "But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Just tell us when you're ready to go, 'kay?"

"Mhm. I just need to sit for a couple minutes, let everything digest." Kairi groaned loudly, sinking back into her chair. "I ate too much, guys..." All three of the woman laughed gently at that, even Kairi, who was smiling slightly at her slight faux pas. _This is rather nice,_ she thought. Just sitting around the breakfast table and conversing with friends. A nice, relaxing morning with everyone going at their own pace. Such a stark change from last night, almost making her forget about it entirely. Almost.

"So, I was thinking about something last night." Kairi started, before biting down on her lip nervously. She looked up at the two woman across from her. "I'm pretty much royalty on this world, aren't I?"

"If by 'pretty much' you mean 'most certainly are'? Then, yes." Tifa answered, quickly finishing her coffee before continuing. "The royal family is most certainly gone – no one has seen them in the decade since – but their youngest child matches up with you perfectly. You're the right age, right look, even the name's the same. So, unless you're some elaborately done up imposter, you would be the last scion of the royal family."

The girl nodded stiffly. "I see." For almost any other teenage girl, there would normally only be one of two reactions, depending on the type of girl: uncontainable joy or annoyed disgust. But, for Kairi, it all just felt muted. A huge, potentially life-changing revelation, and it really didn't resonate any kind of feeling with her at all. For a moment, she thought something was wrong with her, before remembering it was probably because of the events of last couple days and the fear and trepidation building in her for the near future.

Once more, Aerith broke the silence and Kairi's contemplation. "That isn't important at the moment. All Kairi should focus on is defeating the Organization and saving Sora."

"You're correct." Kairi nodded again, before pushing herself away from the table. "Well, with how nervous I'm feeling, my stomach is as settled as it will ever be. Let's head out."

"You two go on ahead then." Tifa offered, standing up herself to bus Kairi's dishes. "I'll clean up here and handle any potential stragglers wanting a free meal." She then looked back up to Kairi and said, "If I don't see you before you head off, please stay safe and good luck. We all believe in you."

"Thank you, Miss Tifa. I'll try and do my best." _I have to do more than try and do more than my best. I have to give it absolutely everything that I have._

Together, she and Aerith travelled through the streets of the quiet town, encountering practically no one along the way, most likely due to the massive battle yesterday. Everyone was either to afraid to come out or were busy repairing the town and shoring up defences in case of a repeat. Kairi also couldn't get over just how cold the town was, crossing her hands over her upper arms to stop herself from shivering. Whether it was because the climate of Hollow Bastion really was that cold, or it was actually moderate and she was use to the balmy, sunny paradise of the islands, she didn't know, but she wasn't a fan of it. Looking up, she saw the entire sky was blanketed by a light grey overcast, obscuring the sun entirely.

_I suppose I should get use to this._ She thought idly. _I can't imagine many worlds are as warm as the islands. They're probably even colder than this._ Kairi didn't even know why her mind was focusing onto these odd topics. The loving warmth of the shower, the sumptuous breakfast spread, the utter non-impact of who she was and what she was to this world, and now the weather. In a few hours, she was probably going to be rocketing to parts unknown to pick up the war Sora had left off from. _I guess that I'm just trying not to focus on that last part... Certainly is better than panic and crying like a baby._

Eventually, the two arrived to another house similar to the one owned by Aerith and Tifa. Kairi was rather confused when they entered, as the building was entirely vacant save for a large computer and multiple bookshelves crammed to capacity, as well as further books stacked precariously on the floor. The redhead shot a look at the older woman, who only smiled and walked over to the farthest bookshelf, pulling on a large, red book. The book tilted forward but didn't fall out, instead, there was a soft rumble as the entire bookshelf began to shift over to the left, revealing a stone staircase descending downwards. Kairi could only blink dumbly.

"You guys have a secret stairway behind the bookshelf." She shook her head and sighed. This was the stuff that only showed up in movies and books. "Of course you do."

"Well, it's Merlin's house, and you know wizards and their secrets." Aerith replied, still as cheerful as ever. "Everyone's downstairs, which is where the armoury, the Gummi Ship hangar, and launch way are." Aerith waved at her to follow and the two climbed down the short set of stairs.

At the bottom seemed to be some sort of meeting room, with a long table and several chairs dominating the majority of the large room. Cloud and Leon were in one corner, conversing quietly, while the other occupants were a trio of unfamiliar elderly women in bright red, green, and blue dresses who kept their eyes trained on Kairi as she entered. Strangely, they all had tiny little wings sprouting from their backs.

Leon took notice as well, for he walked up to the two of them soon after they arrived. "Good to see that you've finally arrived."

"And a 'good morning' to you, too, Leon." Aerith replied, her normal sweetness now tinged with sarcasm. Leon simply grunted in reply.

"So, Leon," Kairi started, ignoring the chilly reception she had been given, "if you don't mind me being so forward, where is my 'team' so to put it? I'm curious and nervous to meet them."

"They're in the armoury at the moment, getting their gear. You'll meet them in time." He explained, which really did nothing to assuage her feelings. "First, however, you need to get equipped."

Kairi quirked an eyebrow. "'Equipped'? I don't understand. I mean, I have my Keyblade. What else do I need?"

"Appropriate clothing." The older man put forth bluntly, causing Kairi to overlook her attire. He was definitely right. Adventuring and fighting in a pink mini-dress didn't seem like the most intelligent or most practical thing she could do. Leon then gestured to the older women on the other side of the room. "That's why I had the King ask for these three before he left. Flora," he motioned at the red one, "Fauna," now the green one, "and Merryweather," finally the blue one. "They're fairies whose magic specialize in creation and shapeshifting. They were the ones who created Sora's new clothing."

"Come closer now, dear. We don't bite." Flora beckoned to her, the trio perking up as Kairi approached them. "Oh my, aren't you a lovely young thing." The fairy declared happily, causing Kairi to shuffle, embarrassed, scratching the back of hear head.

"And she is very similar to Aurora. I can feel it from here." Fauna piped in.

Merryweather nodded and agreed in chorus. "Indeed. Now that we're up close, it's unmistakable. They have the same Light."

Flora flew "Now, we've been discussing since last night about what to do with your outfit. Unfortunately, we seem to be stuck on colour." She then shot a baleful look at her two companions. "Again. But, I'm certain someone like you can agree with me that red is the superior choice," the fairy said while motioning to Kairi's hair.

"We can't give her an all red ensemble." Argued Merryweather. "With her hair, it will make her look monochromatic and dull! It should be blue to compliment her hair and highlight her eyes."

"We're not doing blue," came Fauna, "we made Aurora's coronation gown blue, so you're not getting your way this time. It should be green."

The three fairies all then flew away from Kairi, collecting in a loose triangle, bickering loudly over which of their primary colours was superior, eventually breaking down into a repeated cycle of "Red!" "Blue!" "Green!" "Red!" "Blue!" "Green!" _ad naseum_ for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"Uh, excuse me? Ladies? There's no need to this..." Kairi looked over to the other three in the room. Leon had his face clutched in his hand, Aerith's cheerful facade was starting to slowly crack, while Cloud looked like he wished he was anywhere else but here. "You know... if we're talking colour, there's really only one way to settle it. Pink, with purple as the secondary colour and then black and white as the highlights. That's, like, the best combination possible. Scientifically proven."

The three fairies suddenly went silent, turning to face the redhead. "That seems... acceptable." Said Flora, slowly. Flora and Merryweather both seemed pleased with this compromise, since permutations of their favoured colours were included. Fauna just huffed, her and green having been left out in the cold.

"The other thing we were debating – though, much more civilly – was design." Merryweather told her. "We were thinking of something elegant, regal, and feminine, but still dynamic and practical for adventuring." Staring at the blue fairy, Kairi was struck with a bit of inspiration.

"Actually, I might have something. Does anyone have paper and a pencil?" She was directed to the long table, which was covered in various papers, files, and writing utensils. Finding a blank sheet of scrap paper, Kairi quickly sketched her idea out. The redhead wasn't anything special when it came to drawing, but she thought she was better than the average person at the least. When finished the rough drawing, she passed it over to the trio. "Something like this. Do you think it could work?"

Flora took the paper for the group, all three huddling about and squinting at the drawing. After a while, the red fairy declared, "Hmm... I like it!"

Merryweather nodded. "I believe we can make this work."

"Colour aside, it should look excellent on you, dear." Fauna finished.

With the appraisal done, all three quickly hovered over to Kairi, surrounding her in a triangle, slight wands appearing in their hands. "Alright girls, on the count of three." Flora ordered, raising up her wand.

"One... Two... Three!"

In perfectly synchronized time, streaks of silver light shot out from the tips of their wands, all striking Kairi at the same time and covering her in a blinding light. When the bright light receded, Kairi's entire attire had been altered by the magic.

It seemed that her inspiration had come from her saviour from the previous day, Aqua. It was almost entirely the same, with the halter top, bicycle shorts, and thigh-high stockings all in black; the bell sleeves were also retained, though they were light red-to-off white instead of the blue-to-off white of Aqua's. The crossed belts and corset were removed and in their place was a near ankle-length dress, rose pink in colour. Instead of being one solid piece of fabric however, the dress split into three flowing segments of cloth, the split starting just below her waist and allowing her a full range of movements with her legs. Of the three segments, one was shooting straight down her front and tapering to a point – a narrower strip of fabric almost like a wide loin cloth – royal purple in colour and trimmed in white. Golden filigree decorated the narrow segment in fanciful, curving designs, as well as emblems of a golden phoenix and a dark blue heart. The other two segments covered her hips and back, the splits in the fabric making them resemble flared coat tails. They were, conversely, the same rose pink as the upper half of the dress, with black trim around the hem and floral pattern woven on both the inside and outside of the sections. The upper half of the dress eventually formed into a gold armoured cuirass, complete with triangular pauldrons strapped to her shoulders. Finally, the outfit was finished with black and pink gloves and armoured boots and greaves that cut off right below her knees.

"Oh, it's even better than I imagined!" Flora gushed as the light subsided, giving everyone a good look at Kairi's new gear.

"Oh, yes. She looks every part a warrior as she does a lady." Merryweather chimed in brightly.

Fauna only nodded and said, "Lack of green aside, this may be our best work yet."

Through all this, Kairi was examining herself. "It's really okay?" She turned back to Leon, Aerith, and Cloud. "It's not too over the top? The drawing was okay, but now that I see it realized, I feel sort of silly..."

"Nonsense. It's an excellent look for you." Offered Aerith with an encouraging smile. Leon had a more practical observation.

"The look isn't important, so much as the magic used to create it." The young man with the diagonal scar then walked over to a door near Kairi and the fairies. "Now, let's go. I think it's time you and your support team, such that it is, finally meet."

**-O-SWLTW-O-**

"So, when do you think we're gonna meet this Keyblade girl?" Rikku asked her two companions, looking over her shoulder at them. "I mean, it's been almost four hours now."

"Are you really so eager to do this?" Paine questioned, voice cool and bored. "Here I thought you were the most opposed to this."

"I still am!" The blonde fired back. "It's just we spend until, like, past midnight talking about this and then they get us up at about seven in the morning which is just criminal and they still forced us to sleep in those crappy cells _and_ then they make us wear these stupid things," she tugged at an odd black collar that was currently clamped around the necks of all three Gullwings, "_and_ they have the stupid ninja girl watching us in here, like we cant' be trusted. Treating us like a bunch of common thieves."

"We technically are thieves." Paine responded, still cool and detached. "And _you_ did try and steal a bunch of stuff today already. And it's not even noon."

"It's the principle of the matter!"

Yuna only sighed. "I know I've buried 'just think positive' into the ground at this point, but we really should. And besides that, I'm personally very happy to be offered this mission. I'm glad that for the first time in a long time, we'll be doing some good."

Following the sudden appearance of Tifa and Yuffie the night prior, the trio of thieves and treasure hunters known collectively as the Gullwings were broached a deal, a "work release program" as Tifa had stated: their freedom in exchange for assisting a new Keyblade wielder in fighting the Heartless and Nobodies. Needless to say, the three young woman quickly agreed, though not with some reservations from Rikku's part. The following morning – the current day – they were gathered at the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee's Central Command where the situation had been explained. The previous Keyblade bearer they had met being kidnapped, the Blackheart Stones, the King desperately searching for a way into the Organization's world... the situation was rather bad, and it most instances it would be enough for the three to back out on the deal, but it had been made very clear that it was either this or they would spend the rest of their lives rotting in jail. Not a very difficult choice. Not much a choice at all, really. Of course, in return, they were granted their own set of new clothes – conjured by fairy magic nonetheless – and were currently in the HBRC's armoury, arming themselves with new gear for the upcoming mission.

"Eh... doing good is good an' all, I'm just not sold on this whole 'ferrying around a noob Keyblader', Yunie." Rikku was now clad in a light orange t-shirt and a thin scar of a matching colour, her headband now a sky blue and a set of goggles were lain over top the band. Dark green short shorts held up by suspenders, with black leggings underneath, covered her legs, and three satchels clipped to her belt, one on either waist and the third against her back. "Just seems like more trouble than it's worth. If it were with that Sora guy, though, that'd be a different story." She was also wearing olive green high-top canvas sneakers and tan, fingerless gloves.

"One, you need to stop crushing on every boy we come across. Two, I'm certain we can handle anything thrown at us while she gets up to speed." Paine stated, before pausing and adding, "save an actual Organization XIII member." Paine's attire was much more simplistic and monochromatic. Almost entirely clad in black, with black pants, black boots, a black jacket cropped halfway down her ribs, and black gloves long enough that they covered all the pale skin on her arms, the ends vanishing inside the short sleeves of her jacket. The only thing not entirely black on her was her shirt – grey with diagonal slashes of silver and red – her silver-studded belt and silver-plated greaves.

"I don't think it will even be that difficult." Came Yuna, who was wearing a ruffled camisole, coloured white with a large blue strip along it's top edge. Over top that was a long-sleeved hooded jacket, once again white with a bit of blue, this time taking the form of a trim along the hemming and two triangular panels on the side. Emblazoned on the back of the jacket was the image of a crescent moon and a pair of wings. Like Rikku, she wore short shorts, these ones dark blue and made of denim, but also had a frilly white and sea blue half-skirt clipped attached to her right hip. "We were able to defeat the grunt Heartless even in our fairy forms. I don't think the stronger Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization members will be that hard a fight in comparison. And, like Paine said, she'll get up to speed eventually." Yuna's outfit was finished with dark blue knee-high boots.

"Speaking of, you guys ever wonder why we're human again? Like, what happened to our fairy forms and the curse?" Rikku wondered aloud while flitting through the available gear in the armour, preferring something light and quick to fit her slight frame. Eventually she stumbled upon a pair of daggers, each with half-crescent shaped guards so they could also serve as knuckle dusters. Both blades were roughly the length of her forearm, but were mismatched otherwise, one curving with only a single edge, while the other was straight and double-edge, one a normal cutting edge and the other being serrated.

"A very good question." Paine answered, likewise looking for a weapon, though she preferred something larger and heavier. "We didn't even revert for the year she was gone after Sora beat her. Though, I suppose Maleficent always had her ways of sticking around regardless. If the curse is broken this time, she must be deader than dead." The pale woman also came across a pair of armaments; a kite shield with a snarling wolf's head blazoned on it and an over-large broadsword with a single cutting and a rectangular shaped hand guard over the hilt. She hefted it about, giving it a few practice swings with only one hand, despite it's size. Paine gave a sharp nod in approval, before taking it's sheath and strapping it across her back.

"If so, good riddance." Yuna declared. "If not, we can deal with it later. Again, I'm happy to be human again and to be able to help people. Finally do some good again." The weapon the brunette selected was certainly an odd one, though she had heard of it before; it was a 'shotstaff'. A polearm with a head resembling a tuning fork, two parallel blades that together formed a single crescent moon. The haft got slightly narrower as you travelled up the length to the head and, with the grooves built along the half, it seemed to be telescopic. Oddest though, were the rifle slide mounted beneath the spearhead, the butt which curved at the end and resembled a rifle's stock (complete with a trigger), and the fact that there seemed to be a spiral-bored gun barrel coming out of the haft, set in between the spearhead.

"And if she is alive and skulking around, we can finally settle the score with the witch personally." Paine added, punctuating the statement with another practice swing of her new sword.

"Hey? Are you three finally finished up there?" Yuffie popped in her head into the doorway, panning about and looking at the three with narrow, suspicious eyes. "Haven't started looting again have you?"

"No, little bossy ninja girl," Rikku started in a snotty tone, "we're behaving perfectly fine, thank you very much." The blonde stuck her tongue out at the other girl, who frowned in response, before pulling out a small remote control. She pressed a button on the remote, as a loud buzzing filled the air, followed by Rikku yelping loudly, in pain from something, and clutching the collar around her neck.

Yuffie snickered.

"Anyways, the others are all done so I guess it's finally time for everyone to meet."

After the statement, the armoury began to fill up with everyone else. Yuffie came in first, followed by Leon and Aerith, and then the three fairies. Finally, Kairi took up the rear, looking rather nervous and timid. Still, when she saw the Gullwings, she offered each a small smile, trying to start their relationship on a good note.

"Alright then, Kairi, this is your support team for the mission. Yuna, Rikku, and Pain." Leon introduced the trio, motioning at each in turn. Yuna returned Kairi's smile with a nod and a pleasant "Nice to meet you", Rikku winked and pointed at Kairi with a 'finger gun', while Paine just gave a curt nod. It seemed things were going well, but then Rikku narrowed her focus on Kairi, before opening her mouth.

"Wow, jeez, now that I get a good luck at you, the three of us are so plain looking and your duds are fancy and showy." Rikku commented, exaggerating her reactions so that she looked taken aback and a little offended. "I didn't know we were going to be travelling with some ostentatious show-off here."

Kairi opened her mouth in blank confusion, her nervousness ratcheting up a dial. Regardless, she tried to press on. "So, Leon. You guys have all been in the dark about my partners. Who are they? Members of the HBRC I haven't met before?" Now it was time for Leon to sweat.

"Not exactly..." The older man began to run his fingers through his hair. "The three of them, the Gullwings, they're-"

"They use to be Maleficent's goons." Yuffie blurted out, tactlessly.

"Yuffie!" Leon snapped.

"Wait, what?" Kairi blinked, head whipping wildly for an explanation.

The ninja girl sniped right back. "Gee, sorry. Here I thought you would appreciate that, Mr. Blunt Honesty."

"We _did_ work with Maleficent, but only against our will." Yuna said quickly, trying to douse out this fire. "Our world fell into darkness and we barely survived. She offered to save us if we agreed to serve her. We would most likely be dead otherwise." She then paused, before muttering to herself, Rikku, and Paine. "...Now that I think on it, we get that 'work with us, or else' offer quite a bit."

"Oh. I see." Kairi bit her lip, looking each Gullwing over in turn. "But, still, you did work for her?"

"We didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're fishing for." Paine stated. "We were mostly just thievery and espionage." Kairi looked slightly relieved at that.

"Though, we did lead her to the location of one or two of the Princesses..." Yuna admitted quietly.

Kairi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Whatever they did in the past was just that, the past. Now they were going to have to coexist, so Kairi needed to play diplomat and make sure things went well from the outset. "Well, I suppose I can't hold a grudge on you guys. I don't know you yet and you seem like you're trying to turn over a new leaf." The redhead walked over to Yuna, hand extended. "I'm Kairi Amagi. It's nice to meet all of you and I hope we can work well together in the battle to come." Yuna nodded and smiled again, accepting Kairi's hand with a firm handshake.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, pleasantries and introductions and all that," Rikku came butting in, breaking up the handshake with her own body and getting into Kairi's face. "What I want to see is this new Keyblader, you, apparently. I wanna see how you and your Keyblade match up to that cute guy." The redhead blushed and gritted her teeth at the comment, but chose to say nothing, instead summoning her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace. She didn't name it personally, nor did she know how she came to know it's name, she just knew that was the Keyblade's proper name.

She raised the flowery blade above her head for all to see, looking rather majestic and powerful due to the combination of the pose and her new outfit. Then the effect was entirely ruined due to Rikku snickering

"Woo boy! Lady, is that thing craaaaazy unsubtle!" She said, holding her hand up to her face to try and stop the giggles. Kairi was shrinking back again. "I mean, here I thought your outfit was the height of flashy and ostentatious, but wow, that weapon – OW! Paine!"

The woman in black had smacked her companion across the back of the head, then turned her attention to Kairi. "Ignore her. She likes to push people's buttons."

Yuffie then sidled up to Kairi. "And if that doesn't work, Cid cooked up something up last night to keep these three in line." The raven-haired girl held up the remote she had previously used, revealing it had four buttons, numbered one through four. "See those collars around their necks?" Kairi nodded. "Well, just press one of these buttons when they get all uppity and -" Yuffie pressed each button in turn, which was followed by a loud buzzing sound and each Gullwing reacting in someway. Rikku shrieked as her whole body spasmed, Yuna jumped slightly and gasped in pain, and Paine only grimaced and grunted.

"A shock collar?"

"Yep. Just like naughty dogs have when going through training." Yuffie replied with a mischievous grin that earned a rather hateful glare from Rikku. The ninja girl then passed it on to Kairi, who examined it

"Wait, what does that fourth button do?" The Keyblade-wielding girl pressed it out of curiosity, resulting in all three collars going off and all three Gullwings reacting. "Huh."

"If you're all done playing around," Leon stated with an authoritative voice, "we still have some last minute housekeeping to deal with. Cid has finished preparations on your Gummi Ship down in the hangar, it's ready for takeoff at anytime. We've stocked up it's pantry and freezer with food, but if you want fresh, perishable goods, you'll have to buy them from merchants on the various worlds you go to."

"We also should not somethings about your new clothing." Merryweather began. "Due to our magic, the fabrics are stronger than steel. They also project an invisible barrier around your entire body, extending that protection to even parts of your body that they don't cover."

Fauna continued for her blue counterpart. "They also have several enchantments attached to them. They breath in the heat, insulate your against the cold, and will automatically clean and repair themselves after a period of time."

Rikku let out a sharp whistle while rubbing the fabric of her shirt between two fingers. "Jeez, the next time I need to update my wardrobe, I'm coming back to you three."

Finally, Flora spoke up. "Also, Kairi dear, like how we sewed special powers into Sora's outfit, we did the same with you. With those clothes, you'll be able to channel your Light much easier and with more precision and skill. I hope it helps you on your journey."

"Um... thank you. Thank you for everything." Kairi bowed in turn to the three fairies. She then faced Leon and said, "I guess we shouldn't waste anymore time. Let's go. Um... that is, if you guys are ready." The redhead finished the statement sheepishly, looking back at the Gullwings. Travelling with a party would take some getting use to.

Paine, for her part, seemed to not care about the younger girl taking charge. "You're the leader here. We're ready when you are." With that, everyone began to follow Leon out of the room.

As she was leaving, Kairi overheard Rikku, though it wasn't that hard, as the blonde was being rather loud. "Gee, must be nice to have all these advantages – Keyblades and Light – and then for everyone to bend over backwards and treat you special." When Kairi turned around to face the other teenager, Rikku only flashed her an impish grin. Kairi sighed despondently and shuffled out of the room.

"Rikku, you've known her for five minutes. Try and act just a tiny bit friendlier." Yuna scolded her partner, trying to sound as tough as possible. "Especially considering what she's gone through recently."

Rikku waved the telling-off away in a nonchalant manner. "Hey! This is just how I treat people. Even Paine said so, I like to push people's buttons." Still, both her partners gave her disappointed looks while leaving her in their wake. Rikku went to catch up to them, but was pulled back into the armoury by Aerith, the brunette clamping down on the thief's shoulder with a surprisingly powerful grip.

The older woman crouched down to ear level with the Gullwing, whispering into her ear, "If you do anything to hurt her or cross her, then you'll be answering to me." Aerith's voice was as gentle and sweet as ever, but also cold and dark like a moonless night, tinged with audible venom. She then stood up, smiled at Rikku as if nothing had happened or changed and left the room without another word.

Needless to say, Rikku was quite freaked out.

"...What the heck was that?" She asked frightfully to no one in particular. "Who would have thought that of all the people running this, _she_ was the scariest. The flower woman?" Rikku continued to stare in shock for a moment, before sighing, and running after the others, the threat very clearly ringing in the back of her head.

What followed was a very quick tour of the living quarters of Kairi and the Gullwing's new ship. Leon evidently wanted the quartet out on their mission as soon as possible, so it was all done in his own very efficient and spartan way. Admittedly, what was shown in the rushed tour seemed rather nice; a small gymnasium, a modern and open-spaced galley, homey recreation room, a pair of bedrooms, and two deluxe bathroom suites. Despite being attached to a sterile intergalactic starship, Kairi thought the living quarters were rather exquisite and inviting.

"Well, that's about everything we need to deal with." Leon told Kairi. The two were currently standing just outside the ship's bridge, the remainder of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee members waiting in the hangar, while the Gullwings were already occupying the bridge, waiting for Kairi. "Again, I understand that we're asking a lot of you, but we all do have faith in you, and we're here to support you."

"Leon, I'm not going to lie and say I'm no longer nervous. Because I am. Really nervous. Moreso than I ever thought possible." Kairi let out a burst of frightful laughter, before coughing and trying to steady herself. "Sorry. Sorry. I am nervous, though. But, I'm just trying to put myself in Sora's shoes. Honestly, it's giving me new appreciation for his optimism and spirit. I can't imagine how he never broke down before, but I just have to keep that in mind. I can do this if I just follow his example and his path."

Leon nodded, reaching into a pocket inside his jacket. "I do have one last thing for you." He produced a small spiral-bound book, presenting it to the teenager. "Sora's ship is still in orbit and we were able to get access to it. This is his journal. Not in his words, mind you, but he did add some of his own notes in the liner. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, he has terrible writing." This caused Kairi to giggle despite herself, she knew how true that fact was. "But, we figured it could help you find your way when you disembark on a world."

"Thank you, Leon." Kairi bowed once more, accepting the journal. "For everything. And tell everyone that, too. Especially Aerith and Tifa. You've all done so much to help me in such a hard time. I wouldn't be anywhere without all of you." Leon made no response, not even a smile, but to simply nod stiffly before taking his leave. That all finished, Kairi went to enter the bridge.

Everything outside the living quarters all followed a very sterile and metal motif of whites, steel blues, and gun-metal greys, with the bridge being no exception. Ultra-modern and hospital-levels of cleanliness, over half the room was comprised of the "windshield" (though Kairi was certain it was called something different on a spaceship, maybe a "vacuum-shield"), with four seats spaced around the room. Three were currently occupied by the Gullwings, two on either side of the room mounted next to computer consoles were seating Yuna and Paine, while the third (in use by Rikku) was set at the front of the room before a complicated series of switches, buttons, and joysticks.

Kairi took the final chair, which was on a raised mound dead centre of the room, though not with a little trepidation as she realized Rikku was sitting in the pilot's chair. "Um... is that really a good idea? Having her in that position." She voiced nervously.

"I know she doesn't look it, but she's a whiz when it comes to anything mechanical. That includes piloting." Paine explained without ever looking at Kairi, who only nodded slightly.

Suddenly, the intercom crackled to life, Leon's voice coming over it. "_Okay, we're all ready on our end. Ramp way is clear and the hangar is open, just give us word when you're ready to go._"

"No sweat, Squall-guy." Rikku chirped while tapping away on a keyboard before her. "All systems are green on are end. Well, they're green now. Whoever updated the O.S. on this thing did a real poor job. Bugs and inconsistencies and all sorts of stuff. Real amateurish stuff." Both Cid and Leon could be heard grumbling over the com about Rikku.

"_Just...go already. Just go._"

Rikku continued to tap away at the keys before taking both throttles on either side and pushing them as far forward as possible. The ship lurched to a start, picking up velocity in very short order. "Alright ladies, strap in. Goes double for you, Red. Atmospheric breaking can be pretty rough for a first-timer."

Kairi nodded, quickly buckling her belt and tightening it as much as she could. She could already feel the G-forces pushing her back into the chair, the ship rumbling and shaking as it still built up speed and speed. The darkness of the hangar was replaced by the slate grey skies of Hollow Bastion.

_Please, Sora. Please just wait for me. I promise that I'll save you._

Eventually, the ship pierced through the thick layer of clouds, and for a fleeting moment, right before blasting off into space, all the four women could see were sunlight and endless blue skies.

* * *

_Alright, there we go. Don't really know how to feel about this one, I definitely prefer the first part over the last part, but so far feedback has been generally positive, so maybe I'm just second guessing myself_

_Clothing, clothing, clothing, yay. Just as a note, Kairi's outfit is a cross between Aqua's (duh) and Princess Zelda's from Hyrule Warriors, Yuna and Paine's are just modified versions of their X-2 outfits, done so they are more practical and less revealing, while Rikku's is a mix between her outfit in X and Pascal's from Tales of Graces._

**Point**** #3 Wide Scope, Narrow Focus:** Both Kingdom Hearts 1 and Chain of Memories benefited from keeping their narrative scope rather small and simply focusing on that. KH1 is almost entirely focused on Sora, with only bits of Riku and the others cut it, but because the plot revolves around Sora's adventures, it doesn't suffer, and you do get enough of Riku's side story for it to make sense. Suddenly, with KH2, the scope widens by a considerable margin, but the focus remains as narrow as it was in the original. All the action is still focused on Sora, but this time around he has little to do with the final plot, and the characters who do - Riku, King Mickey, DiZ, Namine, the Organization - are rarely seen by comparison and so the story suffers as sometimes the game suffers and both plot elements and characters feel like they come out of nowhere (both Namine and DiZ vanish for 90% of the game until the very end, where were they? Riku is gone for huge chunks but with barely any indication as to what he's doing; the Organization have very little screen time compared to the one's who debuted in COM and so they have practically no character, some don't even have their names spoken in game). So, while this story does mainly focus on Kairi, we will make frequent cuts back to Riku, DiZ, Namine, the King, Sora, and Organization XIII to see what they are up to as well.

**_Point #4 Riku:_**_ Now, I have no problem with Riku as a character on the whole (except when he's shipped with Kairi, ew), but my god is he just awful in KH2. For starters, his arc is essentially a direct retread of his arc in Chain of Memories, but done far worse. He had already learned to accept the darkness during his fight with Zexion, to use it but not fear it, but apparently that was all thrown out the window this go around. So, instead of taking an active role in the plot, he just mopes around and only makes a handful of appearances for no good reason when he could be helping out in a much more direct manner. Also, his excuse for not wanting to reunite with Sora and Kairi while looking like Xehanort (which is also stupid, I don't understand why they did that) is bull. He didn't think they would accept him looking like that, but they both immediately do when he appears in front of them and he should have known this because they're all friends and Sora and Kairi are two of the nicest and most forgiving people around. Also, what was with that dumb blindfold thing? Oh, and when he does finally return to himself, his clothing and hair look stupid. He's always had really stupid clothing in the series. _


End file.
